


All At Once

by tashostash



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Bisexual Female Character, Canon Lesbian Relationship, Coming Out, F/F, Fluff and Smut, Korrasami - Freeform, Korrasami is Canon, LGBTQ Themes, im doing my best guys, korra and asami are a couple of naive bisexuals, we all been knowing kya is gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2019-11-15 14:45:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18075377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tashostash/pseuds/tashostash
Summary: Korra is back in Republic City after three years. Asami is the new CEO of Future Industries. Neither of them expected what's about to happen.Starts from beginning of Book 4.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first story on this site, so I would really appreciate some reviews and suggestions. I originally posted this on Fanfiction.net. Enjoy xx

"Okay, here are the rules; Korra will attempt to do a double backflip off of this table, WITHOUT airbending. If she sticks the landing, she gets to pick an ass tat for me. But if she falls, I get to pick an ass tat for her. Sound fair, Korra?"

"You're on, Bolin."

After spending two years recovering from being poisoned in the South Pole and a year wandering aimlessly around the Earth Kingdom, Korra was finally back in Republic City, and she couldn't be happier. She hadn't realized how much she missed all her friends, and she was jumping at the chance to do something fun with Mako, Bolin, and Asami. She had missed their nights out on the town.

Her three years away had been long and painful. It took her six months of healing and intense physical therapy to even take a single step on her own. She had been haunted by visions of Zaheer poisoning her and nearly taking her life, ending the avatar cycle for good. He constantly saw herself being drained of all the air in her lungs. Zaheer had completely taken over her thoughts for months. This post traumatic stress was probably her biggest obstacle to overcome while healing, but with a little help from Toph, she got herself back together and in fighting shape. Now, the only thing at the forefront of her mind was sticking this landing so that she wouldn't let Bolin tattoo a fire ferret with really muscular arms for legs or something dumb like that.

Korra hopped on to the table, glancing at her surroundings. Bolin stood to her right, and Mako and Asami to her left. This would be a piece of cake.

"Get ready to have Opal's face on your left ass cheek, because th-"

So apparently, attempting to do a standing backflip while simultaneously taunting someone was a bad idea. When she jumped off the table to do the flip, her foot slipped, and she fell face down on the floor, nearly knocking the wind out of her. Her face turned red hot with embarrassment as everyone in the bar whooped and hollered with joy. The brunette turned around to sit down on the floor, her head still dizzy from the crash. She opened her eyes to see Bolin standing on the table, flexing his muscular arms and gesturing for the crowd to cheer for him.

"You didn't even do anything, you dumbass!" yelled Korra.

"Sorry little lady, but a bet's a bet. Looks like it's time for you to get mother fucking INKED UP BABY!" Bolin exclaimed. The whole bar screamed in approval, even Mako and Asami.

The brunette looked at them with dismay. "Come on, not you guys too."

"Sorry," shrugged Mako, "but this is something I'd pay good money to see. And I'm dirt poor."

Asami nodded in agreement. "It's about time someone put you in your place, O Mighty Avatar Korra of the Southern Water Tribe," mocked the dark-haired beauty while jokingly bowing down to her.

Korra sighed, accepting defeat. "Fine, Bolin, you win this one. But I'll get you back later, you little shit. What are you gonna tattoo on me?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out," replied Bolin with a snarky smile. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, let us adjourn this gathering to the nearest tattoo parlor, for the avatar's ass has a date with a very, very, sharp needle."

Mako and Asami cheered unnecessarily loudly as team avatar left the bar and headed across the street to a tattoo parlor called "Infamous Ink." As they entered, they were greeted by a very shady looking dude covered in tattoos on both arms. He had lime green hair and a red bandana around his arm. "Look what we have here guys- newbies!" Everyone in the parlor cheered, making Korra's face hot with embarrassment once again. "My name's Whe. What can I do for you kids?"

Bolin pushed his way to the front of the group and introduced himself to Whe with gusto. "The name's Bolin. You see, Korra here lost a bet, and her punishment is an ass tat chosen by yours truly. You got paper and pen anywhere? This is gonna be good."

"Sure," replied Whe. He gestured to another room to his left, where a tattoo chair sat with a couple of normal ones nearby. "There's a tattoo chair- you guys can wait over there while me and Bolin here whip up a masterpiece." At that statement, Bolin gave a malicious smile, drumming his fingers together. He and Whe turned around and began to discuss whatever horrid design Bolin would whip up in hushed voices.

Korra grudgingly walked over to the chair and laid face-down. She was ready to accept her fate. "Ugggghhhhh, why did I agree to this?" She smooshed her face into the head of the chair and groaned.

Mako and Asami stood there, snickering. "Hey, don't blame me," said Mako dryly. "You're the one who suggested it anyways. I remember you specifically saying that you had the 'agility of an eel hound'."

Korra immediately protested. "Uh, I definitely do. I could take you right now if I wanted to." Her mind and better judgement were clouded by the fact that she had had way too much to drink, which was probably why she had failed at her backflip attempt.

"I don't think so. You're hammered." Mako crossed his arms and sat down in the chair behind him. He gave a sly smile. His ability to me comfortable around her was something that she really enjoyed about him. Even with their history, him and Korra were still friends, which was a feat to be marveled. They had gotten over their feelings after the breakup really fast- after all, they were just 17 year old hormonal kids. They were probably one of the only former couples to achieve friendship. Other than him and Asami, as well. The two of them were also pretty close, given their history as well.

Asami and Korra were best friends, and had been since she came to Republic City. They just understood each other. Asami was probably one of the only people that Korra trusted to talk to about, well, real stuff. And the funny thing was, all of their relationship drama with Mako hadn't caused a rift in their friendship at all; it had actually brought them closer together. After that, Korra had known that Asami was probably the person she was closest to in this world. She loved everything about her- her selflessness, her generosity, how she could probably kill a man with her bare hands, and she was pretty good looking too. She was beautiful.

Whoa. Where did that come from? Korra thought. She had always appreciated Asami's beauty- I mean, who wouldn't? But Korra knew that that was something different. Never mind- she IS beautiful, after all. Nothing wrong with admitting that.

She laid there in the chair for what felt like forever until Whe and Bolin finally returned with the paper. Thank spirits. Korra tried to grab it, but Bolin was quicker, and he whipped it away from her hand and over his shoulder. "Ah ah ah, no peeking until we're done here. You can't get cold feet and quit."

"Ugh, fine. Just get this fucking thing over with."

Whe sat down on a stool next to the chair and opened a drawer near him that held a tattoo gun. Without looking at her, the tattoo artist said "This shouldn't take long, but first, you're gonna have to take off those pants- this is an ass tat, you know."

This was the moment that the brunette had been dreading. Korra came from the South Pole, so she wasn't used to showing a whole lot of skin. She was pretty proud of her body, what with all the training and such. She just wasn't ready to be flashing her closest friends, and she especially didn't want to strip down in front of Mako and Bolin. Korra also began to wonder what Asami would think. They had changed plenty of times in front of each other, but neither of them had seen each other's, well, each other's bathing suit parts. But she knew that a deal's a deal. Korra stood up from her chair. Here we go.

The brunette shimmied out of her water tribe pants, exposing her muscular legs, and worse, her bare ass. To her horror, Bolin and Mako immediately started whistling mockingly. Korra could feel her cheeks redden and her heart thumping. "Damn, Korra! Who knew you actually had a bod?" Korra gave Bolin a hard stare in response to his comment.

"Alright, alright. This is the first and last time you'll be blessed enough to get a look at this 'bod'. Now shut up," said Korra flatly. As she climbed back onto the chair, she noticed that Asami just stood there, and she hadn't said a word.

Wait… is she blushing?

As soon as she saw it, Asami tuned her head away and started laughing along with the others. Oh well, thought Korra. I must have imagined jt.

After the brunette got situated, Whe reached into the drawer below the chair and pulled out the massive tattoo gun. "This'll hurt a bit at first, but you'll get used to it. We're gonna be here a while."

Korra whipped her head around at the green-eyed earthbender, fuming. "What the HELL did you draw?"

Bolin put his hands into the air in surrender. "Hey, hey. You can't rush art," he said cooly.

Without warning, Korra felt a sharp needle poke her butt, causing her to wince in pain. Bolin started to cackle- a genuine cackle. He sounded almost like a witch. "Who knew that the avatar could even feel pain?"

After about 45 minutes of Whe brutally stabbing the brunette's ass with a needle, he finally put down the needle gun. He kissed his fingers and exclaimed to no one in particular "Voila! My work here is done. Check it out in the mirror over there." He pointed to a body mirror sitting on the ground against the wall.

Korra hopped off of the chair, her pants still on the ground. She walked over to the mirror, shut her eyes, and hoped that Bolin didn't totally fuck her over. Alright, here goes nothing.

She opened her eyes.

She stared at the monstrosity in disbelief.

"Bolin. What. The. Fuck, dude!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These first few chapters are really short so sorry about that. I originally posted this on Fanfiction.net, so the next few chapters will be posted very soon. Enjoy xx

Korra stared at herself in horror. The "work of art' that would be permanently on body forever was none other than Tenzin's face, surrounded by flowers, with two misspelled words below:

'NO RAGRETS'

Korra was frozen on the spot. Her anger was the kind that was so white hot and infuriating that her body completely shut down. She stood there for a moment, seething with rage. "Bolin, you're gonna fucking die for this sooner or later."

Bolin wasn't phased. "Oh, I know, I just couldn't resist. I saw an opportunity and I took it." He crossed his arms and gave a snarky smile in Korra's direction. Mako was obviously trying his best to conceal his laughter, but he was failing miserably.

Asami, who had been silent so far, finally spoke up. "Actually, I think it's kind of charming." She chuckled and leaned in closer to get a better look at it, and it made Korra feel like she was going to explode. "The flowers even have little smiley faces."

'Oh my god, they do!" Mako added.

After Korra stared at it for a while, from each and every angle, she actually thought it was kind of funny, but she'd never admit it. _Oh, if only I could show this to Tenzin. He'd lose his shit!_ She walked back over to the chair and quickly put her pants back on. She also couldn't help but notice that Asami was watching.

When she was fully clothed, Korra picked up her stuff and gestured for the group to leave. "Okay guys, I think we should all head back home. I need some time to plot Bolin's murder in peace."

"We're all gonna have to get rides, though. We're all WAY too drunk to drive," said Mako. Always the voice of reason. "Korra, you should probably come stay with us at the Sato mansion. I don't trust you enough to send you on a ferry to Air Temple Island on your own. Asami, is that cool with you?"

"Fine by me," the dark haired woman replied.

"Alright, cool. Let's go get a cab."

The ride to the Sato estate was long, windy, and nauseating. The bumpy country roads made Korra feel like she was going to puke constantly. She'd had 5 shots of cactus juice at the bar, and that stuff was strong. When they were 5 minutes away from the estate, she couldn't hold it in any longer. She turned to her right and vomited all over whoever was next to her.

"Okay, I deserved that. We're even."

Korra recognized the voice of Bolin, and she felt a feeling of satisfaction that nudged her back into consciousness. "I told you I'd get you back, you little shit."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Bolin lifted his shirt, which was now covered in green vomit, off of his chest and held it in the air. "I'm gonna smell like cactus juice for days now," he whined.

The cab finally slowed to a stop in front of the massive house that was the Sato mansion. Asami thanked the cab driver and apologized for Korra's 'accident', giving him a generous tip. Team Avatar drunkenly stumbled out of the cab and into the doors of the house. Mako and Bolin walked to the right of the living room, where there was a hallway that led to the section of the house where their rooms were.

"Goodnight, m'ladies. Have a very restful sleep, and don't let Tenzin bite you in the ass," said Bolin as he saluted to Korra and followed Mako to their room.

Asami turned around to face Korra and led her up a set of stairs to their left. The engineer instructed "You can have the guest room that's the second door on your left. I'll go grab you some pajamas. You got a little bit of puke on your shirt," Asami chuckled.

Korra hadn't even noticed. She looked down, and sure enough, there was a glob of green cactus juice on her shirt. "Shit. I'm gonna need those pajamas."

The green eyed woman laughed and walked off into the opposite direction to retrieve some pajamas. Korra turned around and made her way into her temporary room. There was a bed and nightstand on the opposite wall of the door, and a wardrobe to the right. Other than that and a couple of paintings, the room was empty. The brunette looked down at her vomit-covered clothes, gagging at the smell. She pulled the shirt over her head and removed it, exposing the sports bra she was wearing. She made her way over to the wardrobe to see if there was anything in there to wear, but there wasn't anything in there except for a photo of Asami and her father, Hiroshi.

Four years ago, when the equalists were threatening Republic City, Korra had discovered that Hiroshi was making weapons for them. When Asami found out, she was devastated. Her mother died when she was 8, and her father was the only family she had left. It took her a long time to get over his betrayal, but eventually, she healed. She cut off all ties with Hiroshi, and took over as Future Industries' CEO. With the help of Varrick, she built up the company from the ground and restored its good name. Korra had always admired her strength. Asami was the most selfless person she knew.

Korra whipped her head around when she heard Asami enter the bedroom, holding a pair of folded pajamas. The brunette quickly put down the photo and shut the wardrobe. "Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude, I was ju-"

The brunette cut off when she saw Asami staring. Korra remembered that she still wasn't wearing a shirt.

Asami quickly shook her head and handed Korra the pajamas. "Sorry, I didn't mean to stare, I've just never seen you without a shirt…"

"Haha, it's okay. I'd probably do the same thing if I were you and you were me," Korra replied.

The brunette silently cursed herself. _You dumbass! Why would you say that?_ But she knew it was true.

Korra walked up to the green eyed woman and took the pajamas."Thanks for not laughing at my tattoo. I was pretty pissed off." The brunette didn't move.

"Bolin was being a dick about it. I didn't really think about it." The dark haired woman didn't move.

Korra and Asami were inches away from one another. For what felt like forever, they were simply staring. Korra was staring into Asami's piercing emerald eyes, taking in every ounce of their beauty. They made her feel something strange, something she'd never felt before.

Asami quickly shook her again, breaking their eye contact. "I should probably, uh, get to bed now."

Korra responded quickly. "Yeah, good idea."

"Let me know if you need anything." As soon as she said it, the dark haired woman practically bolted out the door.

Korra spent a moment staring at the door where Asami had just exited. She didn't know what had just happened. That feeling, that spark. She'd never experienced anything like that before.

The brunette put on the shirt that Asami handed her and climbed into the bed. She couldn't help but think about the interaction they had shared. Korra had been in the South pole for three years- she hadn't had the chance to hang out with Asami until today. She remembered that Asami was the only person she wrote to while she was away. _Could I... maybe... have feelings for her?_

_No. You're being ridiculous. Asami is your best friend- nothing more. That's how it's always been._

But as she tried to sleep, Korra was having a hard time convincing herself that this was true.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a revised version, of the original, but it's mostly the same. It's also kinda short. I know that the timeline is different than the one in book 4, but I did it on purpose so that Bolin and Varrick could be in the story. Please don't sue me lol
> 
> Enjoy xx

Asami opened her eyes to see yellow rays of sunlight beam through her window, lighting up her bedroom. The alarm clock to her right read 6:30 am. _Time to hit the grindstone_. She pushed off the covers of her bed, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and walked over to her bedroom window.

The engineer had always thought that the Republic City skyline was beautiful. She had grown up in the city and watched the sun rise and set in the skyline hundreds of times, but she was always mesmerized by how beautiful it was. It was even more so now, with the spirit wilds in the city. The engineer watched with wonder as spirits danced in the sky. Across the gulf, she could see Air Temple Island in the distance, and couldn't help but wonder what Korra was up to.

Her thoughts traveled back to last night, when she had walked in on Korra looking into the wardrobe. She let her mind wander to the memory of seeing her caramel colored skin and toned abs. She had been mesmerized by her beauty, and couldn't help but stare. At first, Asami thought she had felt a brief attraction to her. But now, she told herself that she must've just been envious. Korra's body was a finely tuned machine, and anyone would be jealous of her. She has a great body- anyone can appreciate that.

Asami walked over to her bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. The emerald eyed woman had always hated her morning face- red and puffy. She turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on her face as she did every morning. She went on with her morning routine; wash face, apply makeup, brush teeth, style hair, get dressed, and head downstairs for breakfast.

When she entered her kitchen, she almost had a heart attack.

"GOOOOOD MORNING ASAMI! We've got a lot to do today. Let's get some brain fuel in that stomach of yours and get to work!"

Varrick was sitting at her kitchen table, and Zhu Li was at his right side. He was sitting with his legs crossed and was holding a bowl of eggs that was nearly empty. He looked like he'd been up for hours.

Asami rubbed her temples, trying to calm herself down and stop her stressing. "What the hell, Varrick? Who let you in?"

Varrick responded with his usual chipper voice. "Your good friend and my protege Bolin, of course." He leaned closer toward where Asami was standing and put his hand next to his mouth, as if he were whispering. "But if we're being honest, I didn't need him to get in- Zhu Li is a master of stealth. I'm pretty sure she was a ninja or something at some point."

"I wasn't a ninja, sir," Zhu Li chimed in.

"Whatever," Varrick replied, clearly unconvinced. "Zhu Li, give her the thing."

Zhu Li walked over to the stove, where there was already a pan full of scrambled eggs. _He cooked in my kitchen, too?_ The assistant walked back to Asami holding a bowl of eggs and a fork.

"Thanks, Zhu Li."

"You're welcome."

After they'd eaten, the three of them headed to the workshop behind the Sato estate. They did most of their planning and building of prototypes in the workshop, and they had all of their mass produced products in various other workshops and factories near Future Industries' headquarters and throughout Republic City. Asami led Varrick to a workbench in the back of the building, where the blueprints for their newest design lay.

Varrick put his hand on his chin and began stroking his mustache with his fingers. "Alright Miss Sato. What do you got for me? You get the ideas I sent?"

The engineer gestured to the designs on the table. "Yes. It was difficult, but I drew up a rough design for the hummingbird suits." She pointed to the wings on the sides. "The body and wings will be made of titanium, so they can't be metalbended."

"Good choice," Varrick nodded with approval.

Bolin and Varrick began working for Kuvira about six months ago. After the earth queen died and the Earth Kingdom went into chaos, Kuvira was chosen to rebuild the once great nation. At first, she was just traveling from village to village, helping people and driving off barbarians and bandits. But things soon took a turn for the worse. Kuvira became a harsh dictator of the states she was uniting, forcing them into labor and threatening to destroy them if they refuse. Varrick was being forced to build a weapon for her, and Bolin was one of her earthbenders. They soon came to realize how evil Kuvira was, and they both escaped from her grasp, undetected. Now, Varrick and Asami had teamed up again to work on a new design to protect Republic City.

Asami continued making her way through the blueprints with Varrick. "These here are the cockpit controls. I made them almost identical to the Mecha-suits, so they're easier for the people who have already been trained on how to use them."

As she went on, Varrick seemed to get more and more intrigued. When Asami was finished, he finally exclaimed, "Asami Sato, you are a genius! You may even give me a run for my money!"

"It was nothing," the dark haired woman replied.

"No, it was EVERYTHING. We are going to get started right this very second! Zhu Li, do the thing."

Asami had always been baffled by the communication between Varrick and Zhu Li. It was almost as if the assistant could read his mind. They were practically joined at the hip; she didn't think that she'd ever even seen the two of them apart. Zhu Li somehow always knew what 'the thing' was, and it only got more confusing the more Asami tried to understand.

Zhu Li walked across the room and retrieved a toolbox and a metal cutter.

"Alright Asami, let's get to work!"

* * *

Asami threw her head back in her chair with an exhausted groan, staring at the ceiling."That guy is IMPOSSIBLE to work with. He may be a genius, but he sure is a handful."

"Tell me about it," replied Bolin. "I spent six months with him when we were with Kuvira- you don't even want to know what it was like." He shuddered.

Asami, Bolin, Mako, and Korra were all gathered in the Sato mansion theatre room. They decided to have a night in, since their drunken adventures last night were pretty taxing. Korra suggested that they had a mover marathon, and they should watch none other than Naktauk: Hero of the South. Bolin was more than happy to watch. He had already spent most of the time they'd been there talking about how it was shot and revealing all the secrets of the 'mover magic', as he would call it.

Bolin continued on about Varrick "Also- does anybody understand Zhu Li? Like, how does she know, like, everything?"

"Honestly, nobody knows," Mako shrugged. It always seemed like he tried to know everything. "Her and Varrick are off in their own little world together. I bet they'll get married someday." When he finished, he slumped down in his chair.

Bolin shrugged his shoulders in response. "I guess I could see that. She does spend all day scrubbing his foot with pumice all day long, after all." He shivered as if he were lost in some memory. "They're already more married than most married couples."

Korra leaned forward and chimed in. "You really think they'll get married, Mako?" Mako gave a simple nod in response. Korra crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. "I'll take those odds."

"Are you sure about that?" Bolin questioned. "Let's not forget the last time you lost a bet." He gave her a smirk. "Did you say hello to Tenzin for me today, Korra?"

Korra grunted "Fuck off. I've got this one, Bolin," She paused for a moment, and then began again. "Alright, Mako- let's talk terms. If they don't get married in the next 6 months, then you have to shave your head. If they do-"

Mako cut her off. "If they do get married, you're gonna get another tat to match your bud Tenzin over there,"

As much as she wanted to side with Korra, Asami knew Mako was going to win. She's been up close and personal with those two; Varrick and Zhu Li are the definition of unresolved sexual tension.

The group sat and joked around for a couple hours until they decided to go to bed for the night. Mako got up to leave first. "I've gotta go make sure the rest of our family is okay- my grandma can be a bit difficult sometimes." He stretched his arms in the air, let out a huge yawn, and left the room.

Bolin got up and followed him. "Goodnight guys," he said in farewell. He waved at the remaining people and left the room behind Mako.

"Goodnight," replied Korra.

Asami turned over to Korra. She put her elbow on the top of her chair and rested her chin in her palm, holding her face up and looking at Korra. Finally, some alone time with Korra. The two of them remained silent for a moment, until Asami finally broke the awkward silence. "So, how's airbending training going with Tenzin?"

Korra sighed. "It's okay so far," the brunette replied. She shook her head. "You know what, that's completely false- honestly, it's kicking my ass. Air Temple Island has been so crowded lately, with all the new airbenders and everyone. That only makes it harder for me to train." She crossed her legs and matched Asami's pose.

The engineer knew exactly how she felt. She was glad to hear that Korra was still comfortable to talk to her about stuff, even after their three-year long separation. "I can imagine," replied the green eyed woman. "Sometimes, in the factories, I feel like I'm being suffocated by all the people in there."

Korra nodded in agreement. "That's what I feel like on the island. Everytime I try to get some peace and quiet to meditate, some new recruit will get blasted right into me by some other recruit."

Asami laughed sympathetically. She wanted to know more about how Korra was really doing. "By the way, how is your spiritual training going? Are you still having trouble going into the avatar state?"

The brunette's eyed darkened. "Yeah. Even though I got the rest of the poison out, I still feel like there's something blocking me. I keep seeing myself getting poisoned, and I still see Zaheer every time I try to go into the avatar state. I can't shake the feeling that he's still out there, trying to find me." Korra brought her knees to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs. The avatar took in a deep sigh. Asami had obviously struck a nerve- she had been well aware of Korra's situation, but she didn't know that she was still struggling the way she was.

Asami put her hand on Korra's left shoulder, trying to comfort her best friend. "I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do."

Korra ignored her gesture and remained still. "It's okay. I appreciate you trying to help, but this is something I need to figure out on my own." She buried her face into her knees, and Asami got the feeling that Korra wasn't telling her something, but she left it alone for now. Perhaps she still wasn't ready to talk about everything just yet.

The engineer sighed sadly. It killed her to see Korra like this. When she first met her, Asami was blown away by her confidence and her skill. Korra couldn't wait to fulfil her duties as the avatar. But now, this wasn't the same woman. She was a lot more cautious and careful, and wanted to solve conflict more peacefully. The poison really did a number on her, and Asami had to believe that _everything_ Korra had went through to recover had changed her for the better. It was still hard for her to see it though, especially now. The brunette's usually ice blue eyes were now clouded with gray, and she seemed more unsure of herself than ever.

Asami still felt the need to do the best she could to comfort her, despite not knowing what was really on Korra's mind. She reached out to to give Korra a tight hug. When they pulled away, Korra sighed and admitted "Thanks so much, Asami. For everything. I don't know why, but it's so easy for me to talk to you about this kind of thing. Mako and Bolin just don't understand."

Asami's hope was restored. She might actually get to know what was on her mind at some point. If she hadn't told those two or Kya, then she hadn't told anybody. "You're welcome," Asami replied with a smile.

Then, it happened again.

The brunette and the dark haired woman were making unwavering eye contact. The silence between them was deafening. Asami stared into Korra's ice blue eyes, noticing the love and adoration that laced her gaze. She felt something stir deep inside her.

The two of them inched closer together. Their faces were inches away. Asami could taste Korra's breath. _Popcorn._

All of a sudden, Korra pulled away. The blue eyes woman got up and rapidly said "Ishouldprobablygetbacktotheislandgoodnight!" and bolted out the door.

Asami called out after her "Goodnight," but she was already gone.

After Korra was gone, Asami leaned back in her chair, alone in the room. Her mind was racing. _Okay, what in the hell was that? That wasn't just normal friend stuff- that was more than friend stuff._ The engineer tried to slow herself down and process what had just happened. Korra had been sitting right across from her, their faces very close to one another. And she had felt something. Deep in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't quite place what it was.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, kind of a short chapter. Enjoy xx

"Korra, get up lazy butt. It's grind time!"

Korra jolted awake to find Meelo sitting on her face, screaming at her. She swatted his head and tried to shove him off of her, but he wouldn't budge. "Meelo, if you fart on me, I swear to spirits that I'll-"

It was too late. The kid let out a massive stream of gas, so massive that Korra could literally feel it on her face. The smell was putrid. Korra shoved Meelo off of the bed, sending him flying over to the opposite wall. He landed on the ground with a loud thud, but he was still laughing. The smell of the fart had engulfed her at this point, totally overwhelming her senses. She tried to send a blast of air in Meelo's direction, only to find that he'd already bolted away on an air scooter.

_So much for getting some rest._

Korra dragged herself out of bed and away from the disgusting cloud of odor that Meelo had left behind, and walked over to her window to gaze out at her surroundings. The sun had barely risen so far, but Air Temple Island was already bustling with activity. Korra spotted Tenzin meditating at the head of a group of airbenders near the great sycamore, and she could hear Meelo and Ikki playing airball on the opposite side of the island. Pema and the youngest of her and Tenzin's kids were reading a scroll on the steps leading up to the house. She was pointing to the pages and pausing frequently, and Korra guessed that she was trying to teach him how to read.

Korra's stomach growled loudly all of a sudden. As usual, when her stomach spoke, she responded. She walked over to her closet and chose her favorite water tribe top and pants that she loved to wear. After getting dressed, she headed into the kitchen to respond to the noises that her stomach was still making.

Kya and Bumi, Tenzin's sister and brother, were standing by the counter having a conversation. She didn't want to barge in on them, but their conversation didn't look to serious. But soon enough, Bumi left the kitchen, holding a cup of tea. When he saw her, he greeted her with his usual energy. "Top of the morning to you, Korra!" As he passed her, he gave her a punch to the shoulder.

"You too," replied Korra sleepily. She still wasn't all that awake yet.

After Bumi walked off, Korra walked into the kitchen and made her way to the teapot to see if there was anything left. She opened the lid to find enough for one more cup.

When she began pouring the tea, Kya came over to Korra and put her hand on her shoulder. "Good morning, Korra. You sleep okay?"

Korra had a really close relationship with Kya. They met in the Southern Water Tribe, where both of them had lived before moving to Air Temple Island. While Katara was teaching Korra waterbending, Kya sort of became her cool aunt slash friend. Kya never tried to control her or order her around, and Korra really appreciated that, as it had seemed like everyone else was doing the opposite. She was usually always given orders, mostly by Tenzin or President Ricoh or some other person. Kya had never treated her that way, though; she treated her as an equal. She was often Korra's counsel when she was unsure of what to do, which seemed constant now. Not to mention that they were also good friends who had a lot of fun together, despite their age difference. Korra trusted her with her life.

"Yeah," replied Korra with a sigh. She didn't even try to make it sound convincing, and Kya noticed immediately.

"I don't believe that for a second. I know there's something on your mind." Kya held both of Korra's shoulders and turned the brunette around to face her. "You know you can tell me anything."

That was something that Korra had hated about Kya but loved about her at the same time. She could read Korra like a book. Korra was outgoing and open in many ways, but she was a pretty reserved person when it came to feelings and stuff. Kya had always had the ability to somehow read her mind, and she always knew when something was troubling her. Three years ago, before Korra was poisoned, she would have smacked Kya in the face for intruding into her mind and digging out her feelings. But now, after the poison, she had changed so much. She had grown used to Kya invading her personal space, especially when she was there with Korra in the South Pole when she was healing. Kya was the only person who knew her like that.

Other than Asami.

But with Asami, it was different.

Asami cared about Korra deeply, and had been her best friend since she moved to Republic City. She knew Korra like the back of her hand, and Korra did the same. They were friends even through all that relationship drama with Mako four years ago. She always seemed to know what Korra was thinking and feeling, and she somehow understood the pain and trauma she went though after she was poisoned. Asami knew true suffering, and she helped Korra through her pain during her recovery, even though they were halfway across the world from one another. Asami was the only person who Korra wrote to while she was away. She didn't know why, but it was so much easier for her to talk to Asami than Mako or Bolin, or Tenzin. She loved all those guys, but not like she loved Asami.

"There's nothing on my mind. I'm just tired." Korra was lying right through her teeth. It was no use lying to Kya, but she wasn't ready to talk to anyone about her conflicting feelings about Asami.

To her relief, Kya didn't question her any further. Once again, she read her mind. "That's okay. I know you have something on your mind, but I won't push you." _Thank you, Kya_. "How was hanging out with your friends the past couple days? I know you missed them." Kya let go of her shoulders and leaned against the countertop while Korra poured her tea.

"It was great," Korra replied. She wasn't lying about that. "I missed all of them so much while I was away. It feels good to have things go back to normal again. Well, not all back to normal, but it's familiar. I think that's helping me get my groove back." Korra picked up her now full cup of tea and took a sip.

Kya nodded. "That's good. So, any new love interests since you came back?" Kya gave a sly smile and winked.

Korra almost choked on her tea. Her mind immediately pictured Asami. Her emerald green eyes and her long, dark hair that was somehow always perfect. She then rapidly shook her head, trying to get Asami out of her head. _What are you thinking, you dumbass? She is your best friend!_ Flustered, Korra tried to reply to Kya, but her words came out rapidly and choppy. "What? No! I've only been back for three days. Nobody. No. What?" She tried once again to push Asami out of her mind.

Once again, Kya knew she was lying, and once again, didn't push her to answer. "Alright Korra, whatever you say," she sneered with a sly smile.

Korra rubbed her temples and kept trying to convince her. "I'm telling you, there's no one. I'm focusing on my airbending. I don't have time for that."

"Yeah, okay. Whatever you tell yourself to sleep at night." Kya pushed herself off the countertop.

Korra walked over to the barstool and sat down, taking another sip of her tea. She desperately wanted to change the subject. "What were you and Bumi talking about earlier?"

"Oh, you know Bumi," Kya replied lightly. She took a seat in the barstool next to Korra. "Ever since he became an airbender, he's been going on and on about his solo adventures and all his crazy stories. Just now, he was telling me about how him and Boom Joon single handedly saved an entire village from a landslide."

Korra laughed. "That sounds just like Bumi to me."

Kya laughed in response. "My brother is a special dude." She stood up from her seat and set down her cup. "I think I'm gonna go find Pema and ask her if she needs any help with the kids today since I don't have much going on. Meelo's in an especially crazy mood today- he woke me up by farting in my face. I'm gonna get him back later, though."

Korra chuckled. "He did the same thing to me. Be sure to smack him upside the head for me, will you?"

"Sure thing," Kya replied with a smile. "See you later." The waterbender walked out of the entrance and down the hall in the direction of where Pema was reading.

When Korra finished her tea, she got up and walked out of the kitchen. She decided that she needed to meditate- there was too much going on in her mind right now. She walked over to the great sycamore to see if anyone was still there. To her relief, Tenzin and his group of airbenders were gone. She sat down under the tree and stared out at the mainland of Republic City. The Sato mansion was the first thing that caught her eyes, and thoughts of Asami flooded her mind. Last night's encounter replayed in her head. Asami's eyes. The closeness between them. It had become too much for her, and Korra had run out of the room. She had regretted it immediately though- for some reason, she wanted to go back and apologize for running out. But she didn't. She kept going. The thought that she might have feelings for her, like real feelings, freaked her out. She hated feelings.

Korra closed her eyes and shook her head- she didn't need to think about that right now. Focus on your avatar spirit, as Tenzin would say. Connect with Raava.

The problem was that Korra had been unable to connect with Raava ever since she was poisoned. She had tried and tried, but nothing seemed to work.

_There's no harm in trying again._

* * *

"Focus, Korra! You're too slow on your feet."

Tenzin was standing with his arms crossed as he watched Korra and Jinora sparring. He wasn't wrong- Korra was especially slow on her feet. She was having a lot of trouble focusing. Her meditating hadn't done much to clear her head. Now, after three rounds of sparring, Korra was exhausted. Jinora was kicking her ass.

Korra stood in a fighting stance across from Jinora. The young airbender was extremely talented; she had gotten her Air Nomad tattoos three years ago, and she was only 12. Now, as a 15 year old, she was even better. Korra didn't know what she was getting into when Tenzin said that she should spar with her. As Korra stared at Jinora, trying to figure out what to do next, she came up with a plan of attack. She jumped backwards, landing on her hands, and shot a blast of air at Jinora from her feet. When Jinora dodged by jumping up, Korra tried to shoot her out of the air, but Jinora was too quick. The young airbender dodged Korra's blast with ease and send Korra flying in the air with a gust of air coming up from under her. She landed roughly on the ground with a thud. Jinora landed on the ground, looking pleased with herself, but also somewhat concerned for Korra. "Korra, are you sure you still want to keep going? You seem pretty out of it today, maybe you should get some rest and we can try again later."

"No, I'm fine," Korra grunted. The avatar tried to push herself off the ground, but slipped and fell.

Tenzin interjected. "I think Jinora's right on this one, Korra. You need to take a break. Jinora, go help Ikki and Meelo train the new recruits. Make sure that Meelo isn't turning it into a boot camp."

"Sure thing, dad." Jinora picked up her glider from the side of a nearby tree and flew over to the other side of the island where Ikki and Meelo were.

Tenzin walked over to Korra's side and offered a hand. "Need some help?"

Korra waved his hand away and shook her head. "No. I told you, I'm fine." As soon as she said it, she knew it was a lie.

Tenzin grunted. "No, you're not. Get up, and we can talk about it." Korra accepted defeat and took Tenzin's hand, and he hoisted her off the ground. The two of them walked up to the steps of the patio and sat down. Tenzin turned to her and asked "What's going on? Jinora was right- you did seem pretty out of it today."

Korra sighed. "There's just a lot on my mind." She didn't want to tell the whole truth, so she told the half of it. "I still get into the avatar state- I think my connection with Raava is gone." Korra wrapped her hands around her legs and rested her head on her knees.

Tenzin put his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "Your connection with Raava is still there, you just need to find it again. Raava can't be destroyed, no more than Vaatu can."

Korra lifted her head and waved her hands, angry that Tenzin said the same thing he had been telling her for days. "I know that! I keep trying to connect with her, and I keep trying to enter the spirit world, but nothing is happening! I don't know what's wrong with me." Korra was fighting hard to keep back her tears.

"You don't have to rush this. Your body may be healed, but your spirit still needs to recover."

"But I DO need to rush!" At this point, she was yelling. "I haven't felt Raava in three years- I haven't even entered the avatar state! I just feel like I'm not even a real avatar anymore." The floodgates busted open, and Korra began sobbing.

"Relax, Korra. Just focus on yourself. Me and the airbenders will keep the peace- all you have to do is focus on yourself." Tenzin didn't know this, but he had just struck a nerve deep within Korra. He stayed silent for a moment, and then he finally spoke after what seemed like hours. "I know you're going to get mad at whatever I say, but I think you should take it easy for a while while I try and figure out a way to help you. I think I have half of an idea of what to do."

Korra shrugged, accepting his words. "Thanks. And there's something else..."

Tenzin's head moved at that statement. "What else is on your mind?"

Korra realized her mistake and immediately changed the subject. "It's nothing. Just a personal thing." She face-palmed herself in her head.

Surprisingly, Tenzin didn't question her further. "I understand," replied Tenzin. "As for the avatar state problem, I've got something in mind that I think will help you. We probably shouldn't try it until later, though."

Korra wanted desperately to know what he was talking about, but she trusted Tenzin. He probably had a very good reason for waiting. She sighed and replied "Okay, I guess I'll wait."

Tenzin looked taken aback. "Wow. I was expecting a lot more of a pushback from you." Korra shrugged. "Ever since the poison, I've felt different. I've been trying to think more about things before acting. I guess I've been getting better at it."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. It's making you wiser and more cautious, and that's going to make you an even greater person than you already are. Not to mention that it will help you become a better avatar." His words were very comforting for Korra, and she felt a little better now. Tenzin patted her back and stood up from his step. "I'll go make sure that Jinora managed to control Meelo. He has been out of control today."

Korra chuckled, thinking back to her incident with him that morning. "Tell me about it."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I've completely changed my writing style in this chapter, but oh well. I'm trying to make the chapters longer and more detailed, anyways. Enjoy xx

Asami reached across the table to grab the bowl of bread that lay in the center of the table. After taking a piece, she held up the bowl and asked "Anyone want some?"

Bolin practically jumped on her, reaching out for the bread. "Yes, please!"

Tenzin had offered to have everyone onto Air Temple Island for dinner to celebrate Korra's return to Republic City. Mako and Bolin sat to Asami's right, and Lin and Opal were on her left. Pema and Rohan sat on the left side of the rectangular table, and Meelo and Ikki sat on the right side. Asami sat directly across from Korra, who had Tenzin and Jinora on one side and Kya and Bumi on the other. So far, the meal had been, well, an experience. This particular group of people weren't usually all gathered together unless it had something to do with a mission of some sort. Asami couldn't help but laugh when she saw the way Lin interacted with the kids, and Bumi sharing his crazy war stories with Bolin listening in awe. After they had all eaten, Pema got up to get their dessert for the evening, as Meelo had requested one. When she returned, Tenzin stood from his seat and called a toast.

"Thank you all for coming tonight. As you all know, Korra returned to Republic City three days ago after being in the South Pole for three years. Well, the South Pole for two years and then off doing whatever it is you were doing in the Earth Kingdom." Korra chuckled at that one. "But that's beside the point. She has gone through so much in these recent years, and now that her body has healed, I wanted to celebrate that with all of her closest friends. To Korra!"

Everyone on the room cheered for the young avatar, and she got a very heartfelt hug from Bumi. Asami couldn't help but notice that Tenzin only said that her body had healed, and not her spirit. She guessed that he knew about Korra's current spiritual issues as well as Asami. It was smart of him not to bring that to light in front of everyone here.

Bolin got up from his seat and ran around the table and almost knocked Korra to the ground with the force of his hug. "Korra, we all missed you sooooo much! Even though I saw you the past two days I still missed you!" Bolin was squeezing Korra so tightly that she looked as if her eyes were going to pop out of her head.

That was something Asami loved about Korra. Korra was a very loving person, but physical affection had always made her uncomfortable. When she and Asami had first became friends, she noticed that Korra always got so uncomfortable and squeamish whenever she tried to hug her. She thought it was the most adorable thing in the world. But as the years went by, Korra became more comfortable with people touching her. She was even the one to initiate hugs sometimes. She still sometimes flinched when people would so much as place a hand on her shoulder, but Asami knew that it was just an instinctual thing. Korra's little quirks like that made Asami melt.

While Bolin was still suffocating her, the avatar turned her head to face Asami, her eyes pleading for help. The dark haired woman smiled back at her and did her best to help save her. "Hey Bolin, your bread is getting cold." Asami pointed at the massive pile of bread that Bolin had stolen from the bowl only minutes ago.

Bolin released Korra and ran back to his spot at the table. "Not the bread!" he exclaimed. As soon as he sat down, the earthbender began shoveling the bread into his mouth. Across the table, Korra was heaving for air. When she finally caught her breath, Korra turned to Asami and mouthed the words 'Thank you'. Asami smiled back, and found herself staring into Korra's eyes once again. She loved Korra's eyes. The way they almost seemed to change color depending on her mood and what she was thinking. The way they reflected the light of the sun when she was outside. The way they shone when they were staring directly back into Asami's. The dark haired woman was in a trance, drinking in the beauty of Korra's piercing blue sapphires. And she knew that Korra was doing the same with Asami's emeralds.

The whole interaction probably didn't last more than two seconds. They broke eye contact when they heard screaming from the side of the table. Ikki was holding Poki, who somehow made it to the dinner table, and Meelo was on her back with his hands over her eyes, screaming in her ear "GIVE ME BACK MY POKI!"

Ikki didn't give in. "No- you never share him!"

The tussling continues for a few more seconds until they were all silenced by Tenzin.

"SILENCE! Ikki, let go of the lemur. Meelo, get off of your sister. Both of you, go to your rooms right now! And no, Meelo, Poki does not get to come with you. Now go!" Both of the kids whined and complained, but they went silent when Tenzin threatened to get rid of Poki for good. Pema got up and led the kid into their rooms, leaving the dining room a mess. They had moved the tablecloth during their fight, which had shifted everything on the table and spilled a lot of food. Mako, who was sitting right next to the kids, had water spilled all over his shirt. He pinched the sides of the soaking wet cloth and held it off of his body to keep the cold water from hitting him.

Jinora walked over to his side and offered to help dry him off. But instead of just blowing a gust of air on the shirt, she blasted him onto the wall with a wind so powerful that it even knocked Bolin to the ground.

Mako sat up, rubbing his head from where it had made contact with the wall. "Jinora! Come on, man!"

Jinora laughed. "Hey, don't blame me- at least you're dry now." Which was true.

Mako, however, was still pissed. "I'm gonna have a bruise on my head, thanks to you." He went back to the table and sat back down.

Tenzin looked like he'd had enough. "Here is what we're NOT gonna do; we are not going to blast people into walls, and we're not going to pour water on other people," Tenzin commanded, looking directly at Bolin, who was holding a cup of water and looked as if he were about to dump it down the back of Mako's shirt. The earthbender looked up to find that all of the eyes in the room were on him, and he chuckled nervously and set down the cup. "I don't know what you're talking about, Tenzin," he stammered.

Tenzin grunted and looked down on Bolin with rage in his eye. "You know full well what I'm talking about, kid."

Lin stood up from her seat and put her napkin on top of her empty plate. She began to walk over to the door and sighed, "I've had enough of you kids. I'm going home. Tenzin, thank you for the meal."

"It was my pleasure, Lin."

Kya and Bumi got up as well. Bumi stretched and yawned unnecessarily loudly, and the waterbender walked over to Tenzin's side and put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up too much- they're just kids. The meal was great, and I'm sure Korra is grateful for this celebration." Kya shifted her eyes to the young avatar and nodded her head, signaling for Korra to respond. When Korra saw her, she jumped up from her seat and gave Tenzin a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Kya's right. I had a great time tonight. Thank you so much for doing this. It feels good to be back," Korra said very quickly.

The airbender sighed and accepted their words. "Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Kya left Tenzin's side and walked out of the room, following Bumi. She called back to the people still in the room "I'm going to bed now. See you guys later, and Korra, I'll talk to you tomorrow." She gave the avatar a quick wink and a soft smile,and just like that, she was gone.

Korra blinked, and she looked like she was taken aback by Kya's words. _What's the big deal?_ To Asami's surprise, Korra snapped out of her short trance and turned to face Asami and said "I'm going too. Asami, come with me to my room." She walked around the table, grabbed Asami by the wrist, and led her out of the room. The dark haired woman turned back to face the remaining occupants of the room, but it looked like they were all getting ready to leave too. Asami turned back around and let Korra lead her to her bedroom.

Korra let go of her wrist when they reached the room. She opened the door, took to huge steps, and flopped down on her bed, taking a huge sigh and letting her body go limp. Asami followed her in, and shut the wooden door behind her. "What was that about?" the dark haired woman asked.

Korra sighed and sat upright on her bed. "I don't know. Everyone was just pissing me off. I've had a rough day today, and a whole meal for me kind of tipped me over the edge."

Asami cocked her head to one side, confused. "Really? You looked fine to me."

"Jinora and I were sparring today, and she kicked my ass. At one point, she knocked me onto the ground, and Tenzin had to help me up." Korra pulled her legs close to her body and wrapped her arms around her knees.

Asami walked over to her dresser on the side of her room, and dragged her finger across the top as she looked at Korra's family photos from back in the South. "Come on, Korra! Jinora is an airbending master. You can't blame yourself for losing. You still haven't mastered the element, after all."

"But I'm the avatar!" Korra released her legs and sat with her legs hanging off the side of the bed. "I should be able to handle myself." She buried her face into her hands.

Sometimes, Asami wanted to grab the avatar by the shoulders and beat some sense into her. She was the most powerful bender that Asami had ever seen, and she's overcome so many things that no normal person could. She only wished that Korra could see for herself how strong she was.

Asami made her way to the bed where Korra was slumped over and sat down next to her. Korra lifted her head from her face as she turned to face Asami, who had put her hand on her back. "Korra. You're the strongest person I know. This is just one obstacle that you'll make it through in no time. You have to stop beating yourself up."

Korra looked at Asami with a flash of hope in her eyes, and smiled. "I guess so. It's just so hard sometimes."

The dark haired woman removed her hand from Korra's back and laughed at the statement. "I know what you mean. Try running an entire company when you turn 19. Talk about pressure," Asami said with a glint in her eye. She hoped that would make Korra feel better about her situation.

See, Korra wasn't the type of person to crack under pressure. She was always so sure of herself and her actions, and it showed. But while she was stubborn and hot-headed, she was also one of the most caring people Asami knew. She'd do anything for her friends. She was passionate and fierce, and cared about the people in her life more than she probably should. Which is why she doesn't deserve to feel this way. Korra deserved the world, but life had given her nothing but insecurity. It was one of the world's greatest injustices. All Asami wanted to do was make her understand that she didn't deserve the cards that she was dealt.

"You deserve better, Korra."

Korra looked up at Asami and rested her head in her hand, her elbow on her leg. "You know, you're the first person who hasn't tried to fix me or force me to do something to make myself feel better." Her blue eyes gleamed. "You just understand. That's why I love you."

For some unknown reason, Asami's heart skipped a beat at that sentence. She loved Korra to death, and Korra did the same. They had been best friends for four years, after all- who wouldn't? But this time, it felt different. Her heart wrenched, and her stomach did backflips that made her feel like she was going to explode. Where did this come from? But for some reason, Asami didn't mind the feeling. Attempting to hide her surprise with her own feelings, she flipped her hair and replied with a sly smile, "Oh, I know."

Asami was a shameless flirt. She always has been. Flirting was fun to her- the casual banter and the innuendos in between were something that she loved. She especially loved it when it made people squirm- specifically Korra. Korra was probably the polar opposite of Asami in that matter- she was utterly terrible at flirting. She always got too uncomfortable or too squeamish, and she was adorably awkward when she tried to correct herself with nervous rambling. But she did have her moments, though. In the rare occasion that Asami stumbled over her worlds and became flustered, Korra would seize the opportunity to finally get back at her. It had always turned Asami to goo. Every time.

As predicted, the brunette began fumbling her words. "Uh, I thought you were gonna-"

"I'm kidding, you dork. I love you too." Asami laughed and leaned back until her head was resting on the wall adjacent to Korra's bed. "Things haven't been the same here in the city without you."

Korra leaned back as well until her head was on the wall, facing Asami. "Not in the South Pole, either. I feel like such a different person now." She took in a heavy sigh and closed her eyes. Asami replied with a simple "Me too."

Korra pushed herself off the bed and lessened the distance between them until they were sitting side by side. The brunette rested her head on Asami's shoulder and drew in a long and heavy breath, and exhaled slowly and quietly. Her eyes were closed. "I missed having you around to talk to, Asami. You're my best friend, and no one can substitute for that- not even Kya."

Asami rested her head on the top of Korra's and closed her eyes. "You know, I have barely been keeping it together with the company. Ever since I took over, I've had to pour every second of my energy into keeping it alive. But now that it's back on its feet, it's not any easier to run." The CEO lifted her hand and held the side of Korra's neck, just below her ear. "I didn't really have anyone to talk to while I was away."

Korra heaved a sigh. "I felt the same way in the south."

The two of them sat in comfortable silence for a few moments. Asami wasn't a person who always needed noise or music to fill the void- she didn't mind silence. She actually enjoyed it. Her life was already filled with hectic noise, and she didn't get to experience silence very often. Her mind drifted back to a distant memory of Varrick, who was someone that required noise at all times. Something about him inventing some new type of shoe that sprayed right onto your feet. He had had a record playing at full volume, and Zhu Li was scribbling down the nonsense words that he was saying while he hung upside down, suspended by a pull-up bar. "Okay, Zhu Li," he had said, "write down everything I say. Sunglasses with words on them. Swords for babies. Platypus bear halloween costume. Spray on shoes. THAT'S IT- SPRAY ON SHOES!" Varrick always had some type of noise in the background of whatever he was doing, whether it be music or a mover or something else of that capacity. But Asami didn't need that. She liked silence.

There was never awkward silence with her and Korra, either. They could sit in silence for hours at at a time, just enjoying each other's company, and had done so before. Like they were doing now. Korra shifted her head to nuzzle closer into the space between Asami's shoulder and her jaw. After sitting comfortably for some time, Asami drifted into a half-asleep haze, comforted by Korra's warm presence.

She didn't know how long she had been out when suddenly, Korra jerked her head upright and bounced her eyes around, looking around at her surroundings. Asami lifted her head, still sleepy, and tried to focus her gaze on the brunette sitting next to her. "What's wrong?"

Korra shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. I was freaked out when I woke up because it was still dark outside. What time is it, anyways?"

Asami glanced down at the watch she wore on her wrist, which read 12 am. "Shit, Korra. We were out for 3 hours." The dark haired woman pushed herself off the bed. "I should get ba-"

She was cut off by Korra, who grabbed her wrist, stopping her from getting up. "Stay." The word came out rapidly and distorted, and her voice cracked. The brunette shook her head and cleared her throat. "Stay," she said, much smoother and more confident The avatar's gaze was laced with hope. She looked up at Asami, her eyes pleading for her to stay. "I want you to stay. Please."

Asami knew that she really should leave. Three years ago, if Korra had asked the same question, she would have left. But now, she didn't.

Asami didn't respond with words, but rather she sat back down on the bed. Korra moved over and rotated to where her head was on her pillow and she was laying flat on her back, staring at the ceiling. Asami followed suit, and laid on her back next to Korra. Their arms were pressed together as they once again sat in comfortable silence.

As they laid there, Asami could hear Korra's breathing slow, and she knew that the brunette had fallen asleep. The warmth coming off of her body lulled Asami to sleep, and as she was drifting off, she couldn't help but think that this was the most content she'd been in three years.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally started writing normal lengthed chapters! Yay me. Enjoy xx

 

Korra's eyes fluttered opened to see the the rays of the dawn light filtering through her window. Above her head, she could see a bunch of little dust particles floating through the air. She leaned up and started swatting at them, trying to clear the air above her.

"Having fun there?"

Korra's heart almost jumped out of her chest as she turned to find Asami standing in front of her wardrobe, putting on her signature coat that sported the Future Industries' logo on the shoulders. "Asami, I sweat to spirits, if you scare me like that again, I'll-"

"You'll what?" the dark haired woman interrupted, cocking her head to one side and crossing her arms. "You talk a big game, but I bet you wouldn't lay a finger on me," Asami smiled, her gaze laced with mischief.

Korra knew that Asami was right, but she couldn't possibly bring herself to admit that she was wrong, especially in front of Asami. She desperately wanted to prove her wrong. Korra quickly pushed the covers off of her legs and swung them out to stand up from her bed. The two of them stood there for a moment, staring at each other. Korra took one step forward. Then another. Then another, until she was standing inches away from Asami. Korra stared into her eyes, those emerald eyes, that still sparkled with mischief. Asami's breath hitched.

Then, in one smooth motion, Korra gave a smirk and lifted her right hand to Asami's forehead. She pinched her middle finger and her thumb and released her middle finger to thump Asami's forehead with as much force as she could muster into a single finger.

Asami took a step back and put her hand to her forehead where there was already a red mark forming. "Korra!" She gasped. "How dare you," she said, mockingly shocked. The dark haired woman punched Korra's shoulder hard enough to make the avatar take a couple steps back to keep her balance. Korra rolled her shoulder in slight pain, and then took a couple of steps forward to face Asami again. Their lips were inches away from touching. The distance sent sparks flowing through every nerve in Korra's body. She could barely keep her composure as she stared at Asami, their gazes locked. Her eyes and her smile sent shockwaves through Korra's entire body.

All of a sudden, her mind and her thoughts were blocked by a single statement; You're not supposed to feel this way about your best friend. Asami is beautiful; anyone could see it. Her body looked like it was sculpted by the spirits themselves, and her eyes couldn't even be described. Korra had always had an appreciation for her beauty. Everyone did. But now, looking into her eyes and feeling the heat of her body so close to her own, Korra's feelings were different. Something had changed. Korra was pretty sure that when you look at your best friend, you're heart's not supposed to beat out of your chest and your legs aren't supposed to feel like they could give out at any second.

Korra broke their eye contact by looking down at the ground and giving a couple of half hearted coughs. "Uh, I should probably get ready for training today. Tenzin's gonna be pissed if I'm late, and I'm really trying to get my head back in the game…" Her voice trailed off as she stepped away from Asami and headed over to her wardrobe to get a change of clothes.

Asami shuffled her feet and replied unusually quickly. "Yeah, I should probably get back to work too. I should go check on the house to see if Mako and Bolin burned it down last night."

"Okay, cool. Cool cool cool. See you later," Korra replied. "Love you."

"Love you too," Asami said, almost a little too quick. The dark haired woman grabbed her purse and exited the room. Korra stood there in silence, listening to her footsteps trod across the wooden floor and out of the house. She shook her head, trying to get herself out of whatever trance she was caught in. _What is wrong with you? Why are you thinking about Asami like that?_

* * *

"Okay, here's another one. Saturdays."

"Ice cream."

Kya busted out laughing. "What the hell does ice cream have to do with Saturday?"

Korra and Kya sat on the floor of Kya's room. They were playing the word game- well, Korra didn't know what it was called so she called it that. The game where one person said a word, and the other person said the first thing that came to their mind. They had been sitting there for almost an hour now. Korra loved spending time with Kya. Her friends were fun and all, but sometimes things got way out of hand and too crazy, even for her. Hence the Tenzin ass tat. But it was a lot more easygoing with Kya, and that was something she appreciated.

"Ice cream always tastes better on saturdays," Korra retorted. "It's been scientifically proven."

Kya snorted. "Yeah, right. It's your turn now."

Korra tried to think of a good word. She'd used up a lot of good ones earlier. After thinking for a while, she finally came to a decision. "Lin Beifong."

Kya chuckled. "Stubborn. That woman will always make things go her way, even when they don't."

"And you know that because…" Korra replied. Kya had a sly smile on her face that made her believe that she knew more than she was letting on.

"Because she dated my brother, obviously," Kya replied. She shifted her legs so that she was now sitting criss cross applesauce (Korra hated herself for using that term). "I've known her for many years, and knowing her hasn't gotten any easier." Kya chuckled. "She's something."

Korra silently wondered for a moment how Kya knew Lin so well. The times that she'd seen them interact, they seemed like they were old friends, but not as if they had necessarily spent a lot of time together. Kya broke her train of thought by saying "You good, Korra? You zoned out for a second."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Korra replied and shook her head.

Kya was clearly unconvinced. "No, you're not. I saw you training the other day, and I've seen the way you've been acting lately. I didn't push you to talk a whole lot the other day because I respect your space, but something's up with you."

Korra sighed and shifted her legs so that she was sitting directly across from Kya. "I'm just stuck in my own head. I'm getting better, though." Korra lifted her elbow to her knee and rested her hand on her palm. "It's been great seeing Asami again. I missed my best friend while I was gone."

Kya narrowed her eyes. "Yeah. You two were always so close," she said, almost like she knew something that Korra didn't. "She must be a great friend."

Korra desperately wanted to steer the conversation away from Asami. She didn't know why she'd brought her up in the first place. "Yeah she is." The brunette rapidly changed the subject. "Okay, your turn."

Kya sighed, almost as if she was hoping to hear more. "Alright. Give me some time to think." The waterbender waited about 2 seconds before speaking. "Asami Sato."

Korra's heart skipped a beat, and she almost choked on her own breath. _Why the fuck do you keep doing this? Asami is just your friend._ She could feel her own cheeks redden. "Uh… be- best friend. Best friend." Korra took a palm to her forehead and cussed herself out mentally.

Kya's eyebrow arched. "Best friend? Okay." Korra knew that the other woman knew a lot more than she was letting on, but how could she possibly know anything? Her tone was very condescending and it was almost as if she could read her thoughts. But reading her thoughts was the last thing Korra wanted at the moment- her mind was swimming with thoughts of Asami. Her eyes, her lips, her hair. Korra knew that she shouldn't be thinking about her like this, and it wasn't supposed to be something she had to stop herself from doing. But she couldn't help daydreaming about the dark haired beauty, and the next few rounds of the game went on in a blur.

* * *

"Okay, I'm just saying that I'm pretty sure Toph just went around erecting statues of herself and everyone was too afraid to tell her no. There's like a hundred of them, everywhere." Korra put her glass down on the bar top and swiveled her stool around to face Asami directly. "I've met her, and I can say that this is probably one hundred percent a true fact that might be true."

Asami and Korra had met at a bar for drinks that evening. They were at the same bar where Korra had been forced to get Tenzin's face branded on her bare ass forever. But this time, no bets were being made, and Bolin (Thankfully) was absent. It was just Korra and Asami.

Asami had suggested that they go out that night. She had radioed Air Temple Island from her office, and thankfully Korra was the only one around to pick it up. Asami had had a rough day dealing with Varrick and all of his Varrickness, and she had said that she desperately needed a night of fun. REAL fun. And that simply couldn't be achieved with Mako and Bolin hanging around. Korra had agreed instantly, as she said she needed to have a little fun herself. Asami left her office instantly and headed home to get ready. Recently, she had found herself wanting to be around Korra a lot more often. That's why she had agreed to stay the night with her the other night. Something, something deep in her soul, kept pushing her to be around Korra more. She wasn't complaining.

Now, after having a shot of cactus juice, she was feeling a lot better, especially now that she was within the comfort of her best friend. Korra had already had 4 shots of cactus juice, and she was drunk off her ass, blithering on about Toph Beifong and how much of a dick she was to Korra when she was in the swamp.

Korra lifted her hands and pointed a finger at Asami. "Look. All I'm saying is that she did whatever the hell she wanted to." She turned back around and finished off her drink.

Asami chuckled and turned around to face the bar. "No one is saying she didn't." She turned to watch the brunette finish off her glass. She couldn't help admiring her arms. She was fixated on how each and every muscle was toned to perfection, and how her water tribe armband framed her arm perfectly. She didn't even realize she was doing it until she got a punch on the shoulder from Korra, and a playful gasp. "Asami Sato, you perv!"

The dark haired woman shook herself out of her trance, and punched Korra back. "I'm not a perv! They're just arms. And I wasn't staring at them, anyways." She was lying right through her teeth. Asami's mind started stumbling, trying to come up with a way to save herself. "Speaking of arms, have you been working out, miss avatar?" She smiled and bit her lower lip, hoping to shift the uncomfortable energy back over to Korra.

But Korra was shitfaced. She was immune to all embarrassment. Asami's flirtatious personality couldn't save her now. Korra flexed her right arm, showing off. "Why yes, Miss Sato. I have." The brunette stood up from her stool. Her muscles rippled with strength as she grabbed her own shoulder and moved her arm around to different angles to show off her strength.

Seeing as Korra more than likely wouldn't remember, Asami stared shamelessly at her arms. I mean, who wouldn't stare? She brought a single index finger to the top of Korra's shoulder and slowly dragged it along her shoulder and down the side of her arm. "Well well well, Miss Avatar, you have quite the physique. You should be proud." As her finger moved lazily along her arm, she noticed how each primary muscle was rock hard and her armband was stretched skin tight against her bicep. Asami might as well be drooling over her.

Korra suddenly jerked her arm back to her side and sat back down in her stool. She hit the bar twice with her fist and yelled at the top of her lungs, "TWO MORE CACTUS JUICES FOR ME PLEASE AND THANK YOU." Korra turned back over to Asami, who was laughing at the total absence of Korra's self awareness. The brunette pointed her index finger at Asami with a smirk on her face and pushed it into her shoulder, shoving her backwards. "You're not gonna get to look at my finger knees for a long time, little lady."

"Finger knees?" Asami questioned. She picked up her near empty glass and finished it off with a smile as she watched Korra stare at her own hands in awe. The avatar wiggled her fingers, her palms facing her face, and giggled. She turned her palms around and shoved her hands into Asami's face. "Finger kneeeeeeees," giggled Korra. A true, girly, giggle. She wiggled her fingers around inches away from Asami's nose. Asami grabbed each of her hands and placed them down on the bar, patting them. "I think you mean your knuckles, sweetie."

Korra crossed her arms on the bar and put the side of her head on them, facing Asami. Her face was all scrunched up, and her lips were pursed. Asami thought it was the cutest sight in the world. Korra looked up at her with ice blue eyes. "Awwww, you called me sweetie," she said sing-songy. The brunette put her index and middle fingers on the edge of the bar, and walked them over to Asami. She lifted her hand and gave her a 'boop' on the nose, making a pop noise with her lips.

The bartender appeared in front of the two of them with two glasses of cactus juice. "Here you go, ladies," he said, setting them down in front of Korra. He turned to Asami and put his hand to his mouth, whispering to her "Make sure this one gets home okay."

Asami laughed and winked at him. "I will." The bartender walked away to serve some other customers, and she turned around to find that Korra had already downed one of the glasses. "I am so thankful that Chief Sokka existed," she said, her words slurred.

Asami cocked her head to one side. "And why is that?" She tried to put as much flirtatious energy into her words as possible.

Korra grabbed both of Asami's shoulders and brought her face inches away from hers. She stared directly into Asami's eyes and shook her back and forth a couple of times. "HE FOUND CACTUS JUICE! This shit is gooood." She let go of Asami and leaned back in her stool. Korra grabbed her second glass and started to chug it ravenously.

Asami quickly reached up and grabbed the glass from out of Korra's hands. She was already hammered; she didn't need to have any more of that stuff in her system. "All right sweetie, I think that's enough cactus juice for you." Korra whined and tried to grab the glass again, but Asami had already pushed it across the bar toward where the bartender was standing. The bartender winked and picked up the glass.

Korra whined and put her hand on Asami's thigh, sending shockwaves down her leg. _Stop it! She's just your best friend._ But no matter how many times Asami had kept telling herself that, she still had a gut feeling that something was different. Her heart skipped a beat every time that Korra touched her, and her arms turned to jelly. That's not something you feel with your best friend. That's something you feel when there's something more.

The brunette squeezed Asami's thigh. Stop it. "Come on dude, lemme finish!" She paused for a second before adding "That's what she said." She winked and gave Asami a smile. Her heart leaped.

"Okay, now who's the perv?" Asami chuckled. She got up from her stool and put her arm around Korra's shoulder, helping her up from her seat. "Okay, let's get you back to my house in one piece. There's no way you're taking a ferry back to Air Temple Island like this."

Korra tried to shrug her off of her shoulders, but failed. She crossed her arms and pouted like a little kid. "I can't take a ferry back, but I can water swirl my way there. On a piece of ice." The brunette stood up straight and smiled mischievously, ear to ear. "I'm gonna go water swirling! Waterbending. That's it, waterbending." She shoved her way ahead of Asami and ran out of the door.

"Get back over here, Korra!" Asami called out after her, but she was already gone. She made her way over to the door, weaving through tables and other people in the bar. She was almost out the door when she felt a hand grab her wrist. A voice spoke to match.

"Hey, little lady. Here all alone?" A huge man stepped out from the shadows. He had green eyes and dark hair, and he was almost as big as Naga. He was wearing a white tank top, and Asami recognized a triad tattoo on his shoulder. _Oh, no._

Asami tried to free her wrist, but his grip was too strong. "Sorry, but I'm here with a friend. I was just leaving." She kept her composure and kept her words as smooth as possible. If there's anything her father taught her, it's how to keep yourself safe in situations like this and not to panic.

Another voice spoke from behind her. "Oh, come on. You look like you need to be shown a good time. Let us help." Another guy with a triad tattoo walked around from behind her and stood next to the man who still had his hand on Asami's wrist.

Asami hit the man's knuckles with the bottom of her palm, making him release his grip. She held her wrist, which was turning red. "Sorry boys, but I really should go. I have to find my friend." Asami tried to walk out the front door, but the man who had held her wrist stepped in front of the door, blocking her. The other guy moved behind her, stopping her from backing away. The guy in front of her grabbed her shoulders and pulled Asami right in front of him. "Your friend can wait. You're coming with us." He turned her around and holding both of her wrists behind her back, and shoved her out the door. There was a car in front of the bar that held another man and a driver, both with triad tattoos.

Asami tried to jerk her hands away from him, but he held on tight. She turned around and did the only thing she could think of in the moment; she spit on him.

The man made some sort of growling noise and wiped it off his face with his shoulder. "Alright, you little cunt. Get in the fucking car." Asami was almost at the door of the car when she heard a loud thud. She whipped her head around to see where the noise came from. There was a rock jutting out of the street, and the second man was on the ground near it.

"Get your hands off of her, you dick."

Asami turned around to see Korra standing across the street in front of a neighboring building. _Thank spirits, she's here!_

A fourth man got out of the passenger side of the car. He walked up in front of the car to face the avatar, who looked as if she was about to burn down the entire building. There was some sort of fire in her eyes, something that Asami had only seen when she was fighting. Despite her intoxication, Korra was as ready as ever to destroy the triads.

The man who was facing Korra laughed. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

Korra laughed back at him. "You're worst fucking nightmare."

The man jumped up and hit the ground with his fists, sending a stream of earth towards Korra. She jumped to one side to avoid it, and then took a single step to her right. Another rock jutted out of the ground underneath the man, sending him flying and landing on the ground with a thud. He scrambled to his feet and climbed himself back into the car.

The guy who was holding onto Asami let go of her, throwing her onto the ground. She got back onto her knees, shaking off the dirt that got on her jacket. Korra was looking at Asami with fear in her eyes, and she began to head over to where she was sitting to help her up. Asami shook her head. "I'm okay," she said. "Don't worry about me."

Korra looked unconvinced, but quickly turned back around to face the man who had thrown Asami on the ground. She turned both of her palms around to face the sky, and lit both of them on fire. "You're gonna regret that."

The man took a step back, jaw dropped. "But… you're an earthbender!" His back hit the hood of the car, where the other two guys were also in shock.

The man who was standing behind them stepped forward and grabbed the other man's shoulder. "Dude, she's the fucking avatar. Let's get out of here." He ran over to the car and threw himself in, slamming the door behind him.

The only remaining guy outside stared at Korra for a moment, and then started backing up to get into the car. He hit the hood twice with an open palm, got into the side door, and slammed it shut. As soon as the door latched, the car sped away.

Korra ran over to Asami's side. Asami was fine, except for her wrists, which were slowly bruising. Korra held both of her wrists as gently as if she were holding an egg. The avatar looked down at them and brushed two fingers over the marks, light as a feather. "Are you sure you're okay? Did they hurt you? I'm gonna find them and burn their faces off." Korra let go of Asami's wrists and stood up, setting her palms on fire again. Her eyes darted around her surroundings, looking for the triads.

Asami shrugged and stood up. "All they did was grab me. I'm fine, I promise." She brushed the remaining dust off of her jacket and walked over to Korra, who was breathing rapidly, the fire in her hands steadily growing. Asami put her hand on the side of Korra's cheek beside her ear, and turned her face over to Asami's. Her heated gaze soon melted into a frown, and the fire in her hands disappeared. Asami brushed her thumb over Korra's cheek, trying to comfort her. "Hey. It's okay, they're gone. You can calm down."

Korra leaned her head into Asami's hand. "Those guys were a bunch of fuckwads. I'm glad you're okay." Asami looked into Korra's eyes. Those ice blue eyes. Korra gazed back. Their gazes locked. And it happened again.

That little moment.

For a second, Asami thought that the effects of the cactus juice on Korra were finally wearing off. But in the same moment, Korra proved her wrong. The brunette tore her gaze away and took a step back, lighting up her palms for a third time. "Hey, you remember what that dude said?" Korra looked up at Asami with a grin on her face.

Asami crossed her arms. "They said a lot of things. You're gonna have to specify."

Korra looked down at the fire burning in her hands, mouth open, jaw dropped. "I'm the fucking avatar." She stepped on the ground, sending a stone hurling into the air and in front of her face. Korra extinguished the fire and held the stone. "Did you know I'm the fucking avatarrrr?" Korra started tossing the rock back and forth between her hands using earthbending. After a few seconds, she burned the rock in one hand. "I'm the avatar! Did you know I'm the avatar, Asami?" The way that Korra was smiling and giggling, Asami thought that she looked like a little kid.

"Yes, I know you're the avatar." Asami chuckled and reached forward to hold Korra's wrists, and looked into her eyes. "Now let's stop playing with fire while we're 6 shots deep in cactus juice."

Korra whined in protest. "I feel fiiiiine, little lady. Cactus juice ain't got nothing on me." As soon as she said it, she tripped over her feet, falling right into Asami's arms. Asami caught her and took a couple steps back, barely holding her up. She felt like a ton of bricks in her arms. Asami pushed her back onto her own feet, holding her shoulders to keep her steady. "I'm taking you back to Air Temple Island. Your night is over."

Korra grunted, accepting defeat. "Fine, whatever." She turned around and waved her hand into the air, hailing a cab. One pulled over to the edge of the street. Asami guided Korra to the door, opening it for her and carefully nudging her in. Korra crawled across the seat on all fours, trying to get to the other side. Asami couldn't help checking out her ass.

When Korra finally got situated, Asami got in after her and closed the door behind her. When the door closed, the cab driver turned around to face them. "Where to?" he asked.

Before Asami could answer, Korra leaned forward. "Take us to the moon, please. One-way trip." Her words were so slurred that Asami could barely make out what she was saying.

Asami put her hand in front of Korra's face and shoved it back into her seat. "Don't listen to that one," she said. "The ferry station by Air Temple Island, please."

The driver shrugged with an "Okay." As they began driving, Korra leaned to one side and her head fell into Asami's lap. Her heart jolted, and her stomach was doing backflips. _For the last time, Asami, stop it!_

Asami brushed Korra's hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. It looked like she was sleeping. Asami had always thought that she looked so cute when she slept. Her face got all scrunched up, and her cheeks were smooshed up against her face. She thought that Korra looked like a puppy when she slept. It was the sweetest thing in the world.

The cab ride lasted about fifteen minutes, and Korra laid in Asami's lap the whole time. When they arrived at the ferry, the cab stopped abruptly, and Korra shot up from Asami's lap, looking around at her surroundings. Asami patted the back of Korra's head, trying to calm her down. "Good morning, sunshine. We're at the ferry."

Korra opened the door next to her and began to climb out of the car. "Heyoooo, we're here!" She stumbled onto the ground and shut the door behind her.

Asami paid the driver and followed Korra out of the car. They walked over to one of the small boats in the water. The boat driver who sat inside it got up and walked out of the boat to greet them. He extended his hand in greeting. "Headed to Air Temple Island?"

Asami shook his hand. "Yep." The man turned around and got back into the boat, reaching out to help Korra into the boat first. The avatar walked up to the side of the boat and stuck out her hand for him to grab. "Good sir, please assist me into this glorious vessel." Without waiting for him to take her hand, she climbed into the boat and sat down in the back seat. The man turned his head to face her. "Looks like you don't need my help, then."

Asami stepped forward to enter the boat. She took the man's hand and he helped her into the boat, much more gracefully than Korra. "Don't worry about that one," said Asami with a smile. "I've got her."

The man grunted in response. "Just make sure she gets home okay." As he stepped to the front of the boat and into the driver's seat, Asami sat down next to Korra, who had her elbow on top of the back of the seat, her head resting in her hand. "Hey, Asami," said Korra seductively, almost in a whisper. "How's it hanging?"

That low, seductive voice that Korra used made Asami's stomach churn. Two can play at this game. She crossed her legs and shifted her body so that she was facing Korra head on, matching her pose. "Oh, you know. Making putts and bangin' sluts." Asami wanted to punch herself for saying that. _What the fuck was that? You don't play golf!_ She must have heard one of her father's business partners say it. Asami was a little tipsy as well.

Korra smirked and scooted closer to Asami. "Bangin' sluts, huh?"

Asami scrambled to save herself. "It's just an expression. I don't even play golf."

Korra scooted closer again, she was inches away from Asami. "I don't think it was just an expression." She brought her finger below Asami's chin, and held her face close to her own. They were inches away from one another. Asami stared into Korra's eyes, which were laced with mischief and seduction. Asami's heart raced, and she could feel heat rushing into her cheeks. She didn't even try to stop herself this time.

Korra pulled Asami's face to her own, and their lips made contact.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this one's kind of short again. It picks up right where the last one left off. I also threw in a couple of Parks & Rec references in this chapter, for any of y'all who watch that show, just for funsies. Enjoy xx

Asami considered herself to be a very sexual person. She believed that, in regards to sex, there was nothing wrong, or dirty about it; it was a normal thing, and she really enjoyed it. Over time, she had become more and more comfortable with her own sexuality. She wasn't one to hide away that part of herself, and that's what stemmed her joy in meaningless flirtation.

But kissing Korra was different than that. Kissing Korra made her feel like a kid again; all bubbly and excited, and happy. She felt much less confident kissing Korra than she did when she was kissing Mako. With Mako, she was always sure of herself. But with Korra, she almost felt nervous. All she wanted to do was kiss her back. No other thoughts were in her head- that's the only thing she wanted. To kiss Korra back, and to be with her in that moment, in a boat with some random dude in the middle of the ocean.

But once again, Asami was having second thoughts. As much as she enjoyed it, and as much as it felt **right** , she knew she had to be careful.

Korra still had her finger under Asami's chin, holding her lips to her own. The kiss set off fireworks in her stomach, and Asami felt like there was some huge weight lifted off of her shoulders. She felt as light as air. _Be careful_. After a few moments, Asami pulled away. Korra began to pout like a little kid when she came into Asami's eyesight, and she started whining. She was obviously still intoxicated.

"Come back," whined Korra. She put on the sweetest puppy eyes she could, and made a face that Asami almost couldn't turn down.

But she had to. "I just want to make sure this isn't a fluke," Asami reasoned. "After all, you probably won't even remember this."

"What are you talking about?" Korra exclaimed. "I am perfectly sober. If I was drunk, could I do this?" Korra didn't do anything. She just sat still for a few seconds.

Asami laughed. "What are you doing?"

Korra replied without moving a muscle. "Cartwheels. Am I not doing them?" She stayed still, staring blankly at Asami.

Asami shook her head. "My point is that I want to be sure this isn't a fluke." She gestured in between her and Korra. "Because, well, I kind of… maybe… liked it?" It was 100% true.

"Well good, because I wanted you to like it." Korra shifted her legs and gave a crooked smile. "This is the opposite of a fluke if you ask me. Because you," Korra leaned forward and put a finger on Asami's knee. "are," She started walking her fingers up her leg. "one hot piece." Korra gave Asami's nose a 'boop' and then leaned back into her seat and stared at the sky as if nothing had just happened.

Asami hear the blood pumping in her ears as she tried to process what had just happened. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who had been having 'more than friend' feelings. Then again, this was why she was being so careful. Korra more than likely wouldn't remember a thing that she had said, and she wanted to make sure that this wasn't a one time thing.

Asami grabbed both of Korra's hands and put them in her lap. Hey brunette hair was flying all over the place in the wind. Asami tucked the strands that were in the avatar's face behind her ear so that Korra could see. "Look. I liked it. But I just want to make sure that the feeling is mutual, and that this isn't a fluke because you're drunk."

Korra shrugged and tucked more hair, which was still flying, behind her ears. "I mean, I don't think it's a fluke. But I'll stop if you want, little lady," she said with a smirk. She whipped her head around and saw the island, which was nearing. "Look! Home."

The boat slowed to an idle speed as the driver pulled into a dock where a couple of White Lotus people stood. When the boat was docked, he got out and tied the ends to the dock to keep it from floating away as they got off the boat. When he was done, he reached his hand into the boat to help them out of it. Korra got up first.

"Thank you for the ride, kind sir," slurred Korra. She walked over to where the man was standing and took his hand, and he helped her step out of the boat and onto the dock. She turned back to where Asami was still sitting. "You coming?"

Asami hadn't planned on coming onto the island, but she realized she should probably make sure that Korra got into bed okay without waking up anyone. Spirits forbid, she woke up Tenzin.

She got up, exited the boat, paid the driver, and watched him speed off towards the city. Asami turned around to find Korra and help her into bed. The brunette had her elbow on one of the White Lotus guard's shoulders, and she was staring up at the stars. "Asami, come look at the stars. They glow!" Korra's eyes dazzled with wonder as she stared up into the sky.

Asami walked forward and grabbed Korra's shoulders, turning her in the direction of the house. "Okay, let's get you into bed now," sighed Asami. She led Korra into the house and into her bedroom. She shut the door behind her.

Korra sat down on her bed and started fumbling with her shirt. She tried to take it off, but she got stuck with it covering her face. "Uh, 'Sami," she complained, muffled. "Take this off please."

The sound of her own name snapped Asami out of her trance. She hadn't even realized that she'd been staring at Korra's perfectly sculpted abdominals. Caramel skin stretched tightly over muscle. It was a sight to behold.

"I can't move." Korra was still struggling with her shirt. Asami stepped towards her and pulled the shirt off of her elbows, freeing her. She pulled the shirt off the rest of the way and tossed it to the corner of the room. Korra shook her head tried to focus her eyes on something across the room that Asami couldn't quite place. "Well well well, Miss Sato," said Korra smoothly. "Looky here. Me. You. Alone. In a room. Let's do this." Korra reached across and took the opposite side of Asami's face and turned it to face her, bringing them into another kiss.

Once again, Asami couldn't help herself. She loved the feeling of Korra's lips on hers. Korra wrapped her arms around Asami's neck and quickly picked up the pace, deepening the kiss. Asami put her hands on Korra's waist, kissing back hard. She could feel Korra's tongue asking permission to enter her mouth, and she granted it in a heartbeat. Korra brought her hands forward and held the engineer's face to hers, her tongue battling for dominance with Asami's. Asami almost lost herself in that moment. She didn't want to stop.

But when she smelled the cactus juice, she pulled away. The two of them sat there for a moment, breathing hard. Korra moved back and sat with her back against the wall by her bed, looking up. "What now?" she whined.

Asami sat back so that they were now side by side. "I told you, Korra," Asami explained, "You're drunk. I need to know if this is a fluke or not." Korra didn't seem convinced. She just sat there, looking at the ceiling. Asami sighed. She had to stop herself from thinking about Korra in that way. She wouldn't dare ruin their friendship with a drunken sexual encounter.

But as she thought about it, Korra must have had a reason for kissing her, even though she was drunk. Asami sat for a moment, and finally figured out how to find out if Korra actually felt anything. "Tell you what- find me tomorrow, and tell me if it was a fluke or not."

Korra turned and looked at Asami, another goofy crooked smile on her face. "Oh, I'll find you alright." Asami laughed and gave her a friendly punch in the shoulder.

"Go to bed. I want you to go to sleep," Asami ordered. She got up from where she was sitting on the bed and helped Korra lay down on her side. When she was finally situated with her head on the pillow, Asami pulled the covers onto her and made sure that she was covered. Korra made some sort of weird purring noise and nuzzled into the pillow. "Thanks, Asami." Her words were muffled by the blankets.

Asami ran her fingers through the avatar's hair for a moment, and before she knew it, Korra was asleep. Her face got all smooshed on the pillow, and her cheeks made that cute face that Asami loved when she slept. The engineer watched her for a moment, and waited until her breathing grew slower and she was in a deep sleep. Only then did she leave the room, shutting the door as quietly as she could.

* * *

Asami sat on her back on a small board with wheels and slid her way underneath the prototype of the newest model of the Satomobile. Her back was drenched in oil and sweat, and she almost fell off, hitting her head on the underside of the car. She cursed loudly and got herself situated again before getting to work.

She loved this part of her job. Actually getting her hands dirty and working on creating her designs herself. Her new role as CEO involved a lot of paperwork, meetings, and a bunch of other boring stuff that made Asami's head want to explode. Since she became CEO, she hadn't had much time to do the part of her job that she loved the most. She relished the moments in which she could slip away from her so-called responsibilities and get some real work done.

She had been working on this new car for a few months now, and she was almost finished. There were only a few loose ends that she had to fix. As she sat under the car, sweat running down her forehead, she did her best to focus on the task ahead of her, but she was having a hell of a hard time keeping her head straight today because of a certain dark skinned brunette.

Her thoughts drifted back to the events of last night. The way that Korra was so much more confident with herself when Asami had tried to get her all flustered hadn't exactly been a shock- Korra always acted that way when she was drunk. But when she had took the bottom of her chin and pulled her in for a kiss, now **that** had shocked her. Korra was never the instigator for physical touch- she was usually forced into group hugs and other things like that. But last night, her touch had been so sure and confident, it had almost knocked Asami off of her feet. Her lips had been soft and smooth, and had pressed against Asami's in just the right way that had made her head spin.

_Stop. She's your fucking_ _ **best friend**_ _._ Asami cursed herself for still having these thoughts and feelings about Korra. Earlier, before the kiss, she had told herself that the creeping suspicion that she might have even the slightest feelings for her were nothing, but what she was feeling now certainly wasn't nothing.

Pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind (and failing), Asami picked up the wrench that she had set down beside her and returned to working. Soon enough, she lost herself in her work and all thoughts of Korra were temporarily gone. Building, creating, and inventing always had a way of taking her mind off of whatever was occupying her thoughts. It was almost second nature for her brain to gain some serious tunnel vision when she was working. She remained under the vehicle for some time until she set down her tools, and took a breath. She was completely drenched in sweat and oil, and the spot she was in underneath the vehicle felt like it was about a hundred degrees down there.

The engineer pushed herself out from underneath the near-finished vehicle to find a face looming over her head.

"Having fun there, grease monkey?" Korra stood over her, hand on one hip, head cocked to one side. She was giving a crooked smirk, and she looked very proud of herself for being able to surprise Asami.

When she first saw Korra's figure, not knowing who it was, she shot up from the board she was laying on, only to hit her head on the side of the vehicle. The impact rattled her teeth and when she steadied herself from the dizziness, she put her hand to the point where she hit it and tried to rub out the pain. "Spirits, Korra," she said, exasperated, pushing herself completely out from under the car and turning to face her. "You could have knocked, or, I don't know, let me know you were here?" She pushed herself off of the ground and stood up, still slightly dizzy, and leaned back onto the car.

Korra crossed her arms and shrugged. "I did, in fact, knock. Several times." The brunette crossed to lean back on the car next Asami. "You didn't hear me once. I thought I'd take advantage of such a rare opportunity to scare the one and only Asami Sato, CEO of Future Industries."

Asami leaned to her left to nudge Korra playfully with her shoulder. "Don't be so formal. And don't scare me like that again, you little shit." She laughed and removed her hand from the side of her head, which was probably bruising, and crossed her arms to match Korra's pose. "And call me grease monkey again, and we'll see who gets scared."

Korra put her hands up in surrender. "Hey, I call it like I see it." The avatar brought her finger up and down to gesture towards Asami's whole body, which was, in fact, covered in grease. She just realized that she hadn't looked into a mirror all day, and she must look like some hobo. She tightened her hold on herself and looked down at herself, suddenly self conscious. Which was, in fact, confusing.

Asami was never one to be self conscious, especially around Korra. Korra was actually where she felt the safest. She was more than used to showing off her features, and she didn't mind who saw. She considered herself very lucky for her ability to do this, as she was well aware that a lot of other people in the world didn't share her confidence with her body, Korra being one of them. She thought back to how resentfully she had had to take off her pants in order to get the tattoo. Leaning against the car, her entire body soaked in grease, sweat, and spirits know what, she realized that this must be how Korra felt when she had to show more skin than she wanted to. And that was the confusing part; why did she feel like this, now? She had never felt self conscious around Korra, and once again, she realized that these newfound feelings couldn't possibly be reduced to nothing.

Desperately wanting to change the subject, Asami hastily blurted "What are you doing here, anyways?" It came out more brash than she would have liked, but Korra didn't seem to notice. The avatar shrugged nonchalantly in reply. "Last night, you told me to come find you if it wasn't a fluke, so here I am."

Well, damn. Asami had almost forgot about that conversation. But she was more shocked to find out that Korra had actually remembered it. "I didn't think you'd remember that," she chuckled.

"Hey," Korra replied, defensively. "My brain is a steel trap of friendship nuggets." Before Asami could begin to figure out what that meant, Korra continued. "So, here I am, proving to you that it wasn't a fluke." All of a sudden, her voice got very small. "At least, I don't want it to be." In that statement, all of her previous confidence seemed to vanish.

That kind of threw Asami for a loop. All of a sudden, all of her swirling thoughts and feelings from earlier clicked and formed a single realization; she didn't want it to be a fluke either. As if Korra was reading her mind, she interrupted her thoughts. "I mean, if that's okay, because, you know what, I shouldn't have said anything, I'm just gonna-"

Asami cut her off by leaning towards her and planting a kiss on Korra's lips. Her body had kind of reacted on its own, and she hadn't even realized she had done it. Her first instinct was to pull away and apologize, but something stopped her.

As soon as their lips had made contact, heat had flooded Asami's body from head to toe. She had millions of nerve endings in her hands and feet, and they had probably never reacted to a damn thing until now. Fireworks went off in her stomach, and somehow butterflies at the same time? There were so many feelings and thoughts running at a mile a minute in Asami's brain that she almost forgot that she was kissing Korra.

But she remembered. Korra cupped Asami's head and held her face to hers, maintaining the kiss. Asami wrapped her arms around the other woman's waist and subconsciously pulled her closer. It was almost as if she had no control over her own actions anymore, her body just did what it wanted. And she didn't mind.

Each place where Korra had touched her (which was only her face), felt like it was on fire in the wake of her touch. She felt it linger, white hot and also soothing at the same time. This kiss felt a lot different than the one from last night, a lot more **real**.

It only lasted for a moment. There was suddenly a huge clattering noise coming from behind Asami, and the two separated immediately. The engineer turned rapidly to find that her metal cutter had fallen off of the workbench that was pushed against the wall of the workshop. It didn't really make sense that it would fall, as they weren't near it. But it happened, and now she and Korra were standing across from each other, space between them.

Asami cussed under her breath, put her hand on the back of her neck and awkwardly looked at the metal cutter. She walked over to pick it up and set it back on the table. Korra spoke from behind her. "Uh, I should probably go back to Air Temple Island, I didn't really tell Tenzin I left, and he's gonna be pissed if I don't get back soon…" Her voice trailed off.

Asami still thought Korra's nervous rambling were cute. "Yeah, I should probably get back to work too. Sorry if I got grease on you. After all," Asami added with a smirk, "You did just kiss a grease monkey."

Sure enough, there was oil on Korra's hand, and she jumped to her own defense. "Hey, you kissed me!" Asami laughed, wanting to ease some of the remaining energy in the room. "Whatever. I'll see you later."

Korra gave Asami an awkward salute, and she thought that Korra probably didn't know what else to do. Asami laughed to herself as Korra walked up the stairs leading out of the workshop, and she couldn't help but think about how adorable her awkwardness was.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is the last chapter that I had already posted to Fanfiction.net, so I won't be uploading any more of them back to back. Sorry about that. Enjoy xx

Korra is lost.

In the physical sense, she isn't. She is literally just sitting in her room in Air Temple Island, staring at the ceiling. But in a metaphorical sense, yes, she is lost.

The poison had left her a mess. She had spent every last bit of her life's energy fighting Zaheer, and she was probably even dead for a moment after he was subdued. She had never known what had happened after that. But when she woke up in her bed, alone and unable to move, she finally connected the dots of what had happened. She was poisoned, died, brought back to life, and now here, paralyzed. She had spent the first few nights of her paralyzation crying.

Her time in the south had only made her more lost. It took her a lot longer than expected to heal, and it took a massive toll on her. Her nightmares continued longer than expected, leaving her most nights without sleep. When she could finally move for herself again, there was still something holding her back. She now knew that it was the remaining poison in her body, but she hadn't known it back then. Her last few months in the south felt like a constant battle with herself.

When she ended up in the earth kingdom, everything worsened. She could still fight, but she was still haunted by visions of herself fighting Zaheer. Constantly seeing herself in that state had almost driven her crazy. Her self-worth plummeted, and she hit rock bottom. She became someone that she didn't even recognize. Someone who wasn't the strong avatar that she used to be.

It wasn't until she met Toph that she actually found some of her old self again. The old earthbender had finally knocked some sense into her and made her stop feeling so sorry for herself. She returned to Air Temple Island, free of poison, and feeling like she'd returned to normal.

But she couldn't be more wrong. She was still having nightmares and visions, and she still often went without sleep. It was a lot less frequent than it used to be, but it was still present, and therefore still yet another obstacle she had to overcome. When she trained and fought, she was still constantly swarmed with insults that she had been taunted with in past years but hadn't affected her until now.

" _You're merely a half-baked avatar in training, which reminds me, how's your airbending training going?"_

" _Ever since you were a little girl, you've excelled at the physical side of bending, but completely ignored the spiritual side."_

" _I'll be no more of a monster than your own daughter. The only difference is that while she can barely recognize her own spiritual power, I will be in complete alignment with mine."_

" _The poison has done its work. The avatar cycle will be over momentarily."_

" _You're the worst avatar ever."_

" _I knew you were weak."_

For nights upon nights, Korra had lay awake, staring at the very ceiling that she's staring at now, unable to get the voices whispering these words out of her head. Being in the south while this was happening had almost made her crazy, even though Kya was there with her.

Almost.

Writing to Asami had kept her grounded. The letters she had received from her best friend when she was at her lowest had often been the only thing that kept her sane. Knowing that Asami still cared about Korra had helped her heal, no matter how long it had taken. And the pain that had come with not being able to see her while she was gone had vanished in the few weeks that she's been back, and it made Korra feel like she was walking on air.

But in some weird way, being back and seeing Asami had only made Korra even more lost. She couldn't explain how, not even to herself, but for some reason, she saw Asami in a different light. She had always known she was beautiful, but now Korra found herself drinking in every ounce of her beauty every chance she got. And every time that Asami pursed her lips and held her chin when she was trying to figure something out, Korra thought her heart was going to melt. And how not only an hour ago, when Korra walked in to Asami's workshop to find the engineer underneath a car, drenched in grease and sweat and whatever unidentified substances lingered on her skin, her first thought hadn't been "Ew, gross," but "Wow, hot." Now **that** was what was probably leaving Korra as confused as she was right now.

Korra has never really questioned her sexuality. She also has never really thought about it, either. Between her training and her other 'avatar duties,' it just didn't seem important. Growing up in the southern water tribe, she was taught that marriage was between a boy and a girl and that's that. They didn't mention anything about gay people. Then again, she didn't really know any gay people anyways. She had always assumed she was straight.

That's probably why she had gotten together with Mako. She had never had a relationship before that, let alone been on a date. Then, on her first day in the city, a rugged yet attractive firebender falls right into her lap. Of course she would want to date him- he was the first guy who was into her as well, after all. Aside from all of the stuff with Asami.

But their relationship hadn't worked. There just wasn't a spark. Mako was a good guy, but it turned out that Korra really did love him, just not romantically. And considering the speed at which they had both gotten over the breakup, there probably wasn't much spark in the relationship to begin with.

Since then, Korra hadn't found herself attracted to anyone. Well, except, maybe…

_No. Stop that._

That right there was what kept leaving her lost. She'd never felt this way about someone before, let alone her best friend. Let alone another **woman**. The only knowledge she had about gay people was from her time spent out on the town in Republic City, and it wasn't much. She did, however, know that there were a lot of people out there who hated gay people. She'd heard people call it wrong, disgusting, and a 'crime against the spirits.' That was why she had kept her attractions to herself, but really, she didn't have hardly any knowledge on what her attraction to Asami even meant.

Korra let herself get wrapped up in her thoughts as she stared blankly at her ceiling. She didn't know how long she's had been sitting there until she heard a knock on her door and Jinora's voice accompanying it. "Hey, Korra," she began quietly, "You've been in there a while, and I was just wondering how you were doing."

Jinora had grown up so much in the 4 years that Korra had known her. She was hardly the little ball of energy that had greeted Korra in the South Pole four years ago; even though she was only 15, she was one of the most mature and wise people that she knew. Even though she didn't really feel like talking at the moment, Korra decided to wave her hand, signaling for Jinora to come sit next to her. She could use some of her wisdom right now.

Jinora laid down next Korra so that the two of them were laying side by side, looking at the ceiling. They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment until the young airbender broke it. "How are you Korra, really." It was such a simple question, but the sincere energy that came along with it made Korra know that Jinora genuinely wanted to know what was on her mind.

Korra took in a deep inhale and sighed, putting her arm behind her head. "Sometimes I feel like the world doesn't need me anymore. You guys were doing just fine without the avatar when I was in the south, so what am I doing, you know?" Jinora's comforting presence had a way of letting Korra's words flow so easily, and she felt safe enough to share her thoughts.

"Hey, the world does still need you," Jinora replied. "You've changed the world so much since I've known you, and I know a lot of people think that all you've done is make everything worse."

Korra sighed again. "Not helping."

The young airbender chuckled a little bit. "Let me finish. Since the spirit portals opened, in my opinion, the world really has become a better place. I really do believe that spirits and humans can live together peacefully, and that's how it's supposed to be." She let out a sigh. "It just might take a while for them to get along. You did a good thing, Korra."

Korra covered her face with her hands and groaned. She was still so unsure. "Yeah, but even if I did, people still don't need me. Republic City has been doing just fine without me."

Jinora actually laughed at that. _Wow, thanks for that._ "Are you kidding, Korra? We need you now more than ever. Even if the portals are open, the avatar is still the bridge between humans and spirits. We need you to make people understand that spirits aren't evil, and spirits understand that people aren't evil." The portals were opened a long time ago, but Korra hadn't thought about the fact that the city would still need help. "You are still the avatar. Even if you aren't back in full swing yet, you can still do anything you set your mind to."

The young airbender had always been wise beyond her years. She almost sounded like Tenzin, and that weirdly comforted Korra. Jinora had always had a way of helping Korra feel better, and get her out of her own head. _You can do anything you set your mind to._ That statement didn't really correlate to her confusion over Asami, but in that moment, she finally realized what she wanted to do. At least, what she wanted to do about one thing.

Korra shot up from where she was laying and clambered over Jinora, who gave a quick "Hey, what was that for," landing on the ground ungracefully. She stood there for a moment, as she was kind of dizzy after getting up so fast from laying on her back for a good while. She brushed herself off and pulled Jinora off the bed. "Thanks, Jinora. Really."

Jinora gave an appreciative smile. She was obviously very pleased that she was able to help Korra. "No problem. What are you about to go off and do, anyways?"

Still trying to leave in a hurry, Korra yelled back at Jinora while running out the door, "I'm gonna do something that I set my mind to!"

* * *

Naga jumped and skidded to a stop in front of the Sato mansion, almost throwing Korra off of her saddle. She hopped off of the massive polar bear dog and gave her a quick hug, which was returned with an affectionate lick to the face. "Thanks, girl," Korra said gratefully, her face pressed against Naga's. "You got here real fast. Wait out here."

As Korra tried to walk away, Naga gave a painful whimper, begging Korra to stay. She walked back towards her and conjured a strip of seal jerky out of a bag attached to her saddle and tossed it to Naga, who caught it in her mouth. "Sorry girl, I gotta go, but I'll be back soon." Naga whined again, but she didn't protest anymore as Korra finally began walking up the steps leading to the massive double doors.

Before she even reached out her hand to knock, the door swung open towards her, hitting Korra straight in the forehead. The impact hurt, bad, and Korra held her head in her hands in pain. "Who the fuck-"

"Language!" She immediately recognized the voice, dripping with sarcasm, of the very woman she had come to meet. Korra decided that a sarcastic reply would fit best. " **Whom** the fuck-"

She was cut off again. "Oh, shut up." Asami soon walked up to Korra's side, making sure she was okay. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to slam a door in your face." Korra's head started to clear and her eyesight came into focus again, and she looked up to see Asami holding her shoulders and helping her stand up straight again. She was beginning to get frustrated as the pain continued and her temper almost got the better of her, but she managed to subdue it, as nothing would stop her from doing what she came here to do.

Still holding her hand to her forehead, Korra shrugged. "It's okay. Where were you in a hurry to, anyways?" Korra silently pleaded to no one in particular that Asami didn't have to go anywhere important.

For a second, she thought she saw Asami blush as the engineer held the back of her neck with one hand nervously. She always did that when she was nervous. "Actually," Asami started, shakily, "I was coming to see you."

"Oh." Korra was surprised to hear that. Surprised, happy, excited, all those happy emotions. And as usual, when emotions came to Korra, so did a wave of uncomfortableness and nervous rambling. "Well, uh, do you remember what I said in the warehouse yesterday?"

Asami laughed, only making Korra's embarrassment worse, and she felt her face become flushed. "You said a lot of things yesterday. You have to be more specific."

Korra took in a deep breath, trying to regain her composure. She hated talking about her feelings, and especially when she hardly had a clue what they were, but she knew she had to do this. "Well, I said I didn't want our kiss on that boat to be a fluke. I still think that, and I know that you think that too, well I don't actually know that, but maybe, you know-"

She was cut off for a third time. "Slow down, you'll hurt yourself." Korra actually noticed the slightest tremor in Asami's voice, which was a bit shocking, because she was always so confident. Korra didn't think she'd ever actually seen Asami flustered before. "I know what you're saying, and you're right. I think that too."

Still dazed, Asami's words went in one of Korra's ears and out another. "Wait, you think what?"

Asami gave Korra's shoulder an affectionate shove. "I didn't want it to be a fluke either, stupid." Korra must have had a look of surprise on her face, because Asami continued "I literally said it on the boat. Remember?"

Korra's mind snapped out of its weird haze and she finally remembered what Asami was talking about. "Oh. Yeah." And this is where Korra's brain stopped. She had left Air Temple Island in such a hurry that she hadn't even thought about what she was going to say. She scrambled to come up with the right words to say. "Well, um, we kissed, what, twice?"

"Three times," Asami corrected with a wink. _Spirits, Asami, I'm trying to fucking get the words out of my mouth. Stop distracting me._

Korra rubbed her temples, trying to focus on what she was about to admit. "What I'm trying to say is that I maybe kind of felt something? In the kiss, that is?" The avatar took in a deep breath and exhaled shakily. "I felt something, I don't know, real."

The two of them stood there in silence for what felt like **hours** until Asami finally spoke. "That's what I was about to tell you, actually." The engineer stood up straight and took a breath, looking as if she were about to tell a story. "I felt something too, Korra. And the reason I kept stopping you was because I don't want it to affect our friendship. As good as it felt, and trust me, it felt **good** ," Korra's heart lifted. "I value our friendship too much to screw it up over a drunken sexual encounter."

Korra finally saw an opening to make her point. "See, that's what I wanted to tell you. I might have been drunk, but I meant what I said and I meant what I did. But I understand if you don't feel the same way, and I'm sorry if I did anything to ruin-

Asami cut her off, again, but this time by bringing Korra forward into a kiss. The initial touch sent waves of heat down her body, and her heart jumped in surprise, but in a good way. It only lasted for a moment though. Asami pulled away and wrapped her arms around the back of Korra's neck, the two of them still dangerously close to one another. "You know," Asami stated in a low voice that made Korra tremble, "you're cute when you ramble."

As much as Korra wanted to lean forward and kiss Asami again, she stopped herself. "Listen," she began, taking the smallest step back, making Asami pull her arms away, They were still very close to one another, but not enough to pull Korra into another embrace with the other woman that would leave her defenseless. "I just want to be careful. We don't even know what," Korra brought her hand back and forth between them, "This is. Maybe we should figure that out before we do anything."

"Well," Asami said, almost in a whisper, "I know that I like this. Me and you, I mean. You wanna know something that I've always regretted?"

Korra didn't know where Asami was going with this, but she wanted to know. "What?"

Asami crossed her arms and leaned against the door next to her. She crossed her legs, putting her in a pose that made her look like she was completely in her element, which just so happened to be teasing Korra and making her uncomfortable. She gave a sly smile, and shamelessly looked Korra up and down. Her eyes moved painfully slow, making Korra more and more uncomfortable each second. She had never known how to respond to Asami's flirty energy. The engineer brought her eyes back up to match Korra's and took in a sigh. "I've always regretted not experimenting more when I was a teenager."

Growing up in a white lotus compound in the South Pole until she was 17, Korra had no clue what experimenting meant. At least, what Asami's version of 'experimenting' was. Korra answered "What do you mean?" Because she genuinely did not know what she meant.

For a moment, Asami had looked taken aback, as if she didn't believe that Korra was actually being serious. But after a moment, she came to the realization that Korra truly didn't know. "Let me explain." Asami took a breath. "I've always regretted not testing out my attraction to women."

Korra felt a rush of relief. "Wait, you've been attracted to girls too?"

"Uh, yeah. Duh." Asami hit herself on the forehead and stared at Korra, making sure that she understood that she was far from the only one who had. The dark haired woman leaned back on the wall and copied her earlier pose. "Especially when I've got a best friend who looks like you." She gave a wink.

After a beat of silence, Korra finally thought of what she should do. "Well," she started, "I think I know what we can do." Korra had never done anything like this, and she had to say just the right words. She took a shaky breath before starting again. "Maybe we can, you know," she took another breath. She could feel the blood pumping in her own ears and her heart was beating faster than it probably ever had, which was saying something. "Test out these attractions." Asami didn't move, and Korra could feel lighting shoot through her heart as she waited for some sort of response from her.

To her relief, Asami finally smiled. "That sounds like a plan. But we should take it slow." Asami usually was very good at keeping her cool, but there was no way for her to disguise the happiness in her voice. It make Korra's heart leap. "You know, because of our friendship."

Korra nodded quickly in agreement. "Yes. Our friendship."

The two of them were still standing less than a foot away from one another. Solely Asami's presence was putting Korra on the verge of melting on the spot, not unlike the wicked witch of the west did. In this moment, she wanted nothing except to be close to Asami, to, you know, test the attraction. As if Asami had read her mind (which she probably did), she put her arms around Korra's neck and pulled her into another kiss. Korra put her hands on the engineer's waist and pulled their bodies close enough to where they were now pressed against each other. Asami tightened her hold on Korra and pressed her lips harder into Korra's, and the avatar returned the favor.

The door behind Korra swing open.

"Oh, hey guys, I'm goin-"

Korra and Asami instantly separated, and Korra felt her face get hot and her cheeks redden with embarrassment. Asami wiped her mouth with her shoulder, and Korra gave a couple of uncomfortable coughs to fill the deafening silence between her, Asami, and Bolin, who stood next to them, jaw dropped.

Korra felt another word vomit coming on. "Hey, uh Bolin, so it's not what it looks like, well, it was, but we a-"

"Just don't tell anyone about what you just saw." Asami cut her off, and Korra shot her a look of gratefulness for stopping her from saying whatever was going to come out of her mouth. Asami continued, and Bolin hadn't moved an inch. He was still staring. "This is very very new, like 5 minutes ago new, so just don't tell anyone. Can you do that, Bo?"

Bolin stood up straight and shook his head, still processing what he had just seen. He looked back and forth between them for what seemed like forever. Korra felt like she was going to die of embarrassment. Bolin finally spoke, gesturing between the two of them. "So you," he pointed at Asami, "and you," now pointing at Korra, "are… dating?"

"What?! No! No we are not. We're just…" Korra's voice trailed off as she tried to figure out what to say. Her mind was racing as she tried to pin down a single thought and once she finally did, she continued with a voice crack "Just doing that." Korra punched herself in the face in her mind. _That makes absolutely zero sense._

But Bolin somehow understood. He nodded, his expression still conveying his inability to process, and said "Okay. I won't tell anyone." He paused for a moment. "Except Pabu. We share everything, even our minds. He has to know."

Asami laughed. "Fine, you can tell Pabu. Just no people, okay?"

Bolin shrugged. "I can't make any promises, but I will do my absolute best." He shook his head again and started walking away from the house and headed to wherever he was going before his intrusion. He waved behind his back and yelled "Going to run some errands. Bye!"

As soon as he was out of earshot, Korra turned back to face Asami and she did the same. "We're fucked, aren't we?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry this chapter took a while. I have been really busy with real life stuff, and I spent my spring break out of town. The next ones should come in faster. Enjoy xx

There was something funny about how life always worked itself out. At least, only in this particular situation did that apply. Last night, Korra had rushed to Asami’s house with absolutely no plan, and she left with exactly what she came for. Well, she had had no idea what she was coming for in the first place, but she knew that she had left happy. Korra had woken up this morning filled with some sort of bubbly feeling in her chest that she’d never felt before. However, it was not unlike the feeling she had when Bolin had first forced her to eat at his favorite restaurant. All bubbly inside and giddy with joy with the thought of trying something new.

As Korra finished putting on her signature armband, topping off her usual water tribe getup, she almost stopped to think about why her mood today contrasted so much from yesterdays. But she was on cloud nine, and nothing was on her mind except the exciting prospect of a new day and getting to be surrounded by the people she loved most in the world. Korra cracked her neck from side to side and opened the door to her bedroom, allowing the remaining sunlight to flood the space behind her. She couldn’t remember feeling this good in years.

Korra took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, and began heading to the kitchen to get some tea. When she got there, she saw Kya and Tenzin sharing tea and talking about something, but she didn’t try to tune in to their conversation. She walked past them and went over to the tea pot and grabbed an empty cup that sat next to it and began to pour it in. When she was done, she turned around and leaned back against the counter and took a sip. It was just the right temperature.

Tenzin and Kya looked over at her and smiled, and Korra greeted them before they could say anything. “Good morning Tenzin, and good morning Kya. Beautiful morning, isn’t it?” It really was a beautiful morning. There was some type of bird on the windowsill to the right of her, and Korra walked over to it and put her finger up to it. She knew that she couldn’t touch it through the glass, but she was still intrigued by it. The bird tried to peck at her finger, but it’s beak only met glass.

She could hear Tenzin chuckle from behind her. “Good morning to you too, Korra. You’re looking especially chipper this morning. What’s got you in a good mood all of a sudden?”

“Oh, you know,” Korra replied, not really listening, her attention still focused on the bird that was still trying to peck at her finger but failing. “Life always has a way of working out.” She turned around and picked up her cup, which she had set down earlier. The tea was beginning to get a little cold, so she firebended it to warm it up again. Once it was steaming, she took another sip and clicked her tongue when she was finished. “I’m just appreciating the world around me.”

“Huh.” Tenzin looked very pleased with her response. “I don’t know what you did, but I like it. It’s good to see you happy again.” The airbender walked over to Korra and leaned on the counter left to her, and put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m proud of you, Korra.”

Korra couldn’t fit into words how much it meant to hear someone say that to her, as recently people haven’t really been proud of her for anything. With her recent mood boost, and now this praise, she didn’t think that she could feel any happier. “Thanks, Tenzin.” She turned to face him and wrapped him up in a big hug, squeezing him hard.

“Okay, Korra, put me down please,” Tenzin wheezed. Korra hadn’t even realized she had lifted him off the ground. She set him down and took a step back, allowing him to catch his breath. He brushed off his air nomad clothing and stood up straight, regaining his composure. “I don’t know what’s got you in such a good mood, but keep it up.” At that, the airbender walked out of the kitchen to begin his day.

Korra picked up her tea and took another sip, heading across the room to greet Kya. The avatar stopped and leaned against the counter in front of where Kya was standing. “Good morning.”

Kya chuckled in response. “You already said that.”

“I know, but it is a good morning, isn’t it?” Korra asked with a smile. She watched as Kya finished off her tea and set the cup next to her. “Well,” Kya began, “Tenzin is right. It certainly is good to see you in a good mood. Who got you like this?”

Korra almost choked on the tea that she was sipping. _How does she know?_ She tried her best to keep her cool and not give anything away. “What makes you think it’s a who?” Hopefully that had sounded convincing enough. And apparently, it had, because Kya just shrugged in response. “I don’t know, I just guessed. Well if it’s not a who, then **what** is it?”

“Like I said, life always has a way of working out.” Korra flashed a smile that wasn’t at all fake.

Kya eyed her suspiciously. _Seriously,_ Korra thought, _what is with her and the whole ‘knowing my every thought’ thing?_ “You’re not giving me much to work with here, kid.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I know something’s going on with you, but you won’t tell me what it is!” Kya sounded almost mad, which was really out of character for her. She was usually a very easy going person, and she had never yelled at Korra before. Except for a few instances in the south pole growing up when Korra would do some dumb shit and needed discipline. But this was different; Korra had never seen Kya get mad like this before. But her anger dissipated in an instant, and Kya sighed. “I’m sorry. It just frustrates me when you don’t tell me stuff. We used to talk about everything.”

Korra sighed, not knowing how to respond. It was true that they hadn’t been talking as much lately, but she guessed that just came from age. She was an adult now, and things change. But that didn’t change the fact that her and Kya were still close. “I promise you, if anything has happened, I would tell you. But as of right now, there isn’t really much going on.” It was kind of a half lie, and it immediately made Korra feel guilty, but she couldn’t risk anyone else knowing about her recent, well, revelation.

Kya sighed. “Okay, if you say so.” She turned and pointed her finger to Korra’s nose, staring her down. “But you better tell me if anything interesting happens to you.”

“Deal.” Korra put her hands up in surrender. She was going to tell her eventually, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep it from her forever. “So, in other news, how are you?”

Kya’s disappointment, if there was any to begin with, was gone in an instant. “Oh, you know. Doing my part for the bettering of the community.”

“Okay, I don’t know what that means, but good for you,” Korra chuckled. “Hey, we need to hang out more. I miss spending time with you, especially since my friends are…”

“Crazy?” Kya interrupted. She couldn’t have said it better.

“Yeah,” Korra laughed. Kya put her hand on Korra’s shoulder and walked around so that they were standing face to face. “You know, I’ve missed you too. We should get lunch sometime.”

Korra smiled. “Yeah, I’d like that.” She was excited to get to spend time with Kya, and not in a recovering-from-trauma kind of way.

“I’m going to go ask Pema is she needs me for anything today,” said Kya, putting her cup in the sink and heading out of the room. She stood in the doorway and put her hand on the side, turning around to Korra. “And Korra?”

“Yeah?”

“Stay out of trouble, kid.” At that, she chuckled and left the room.

Korra leaned back on the counter and sighed. She hated lying to Kya. Hell, she hated lying in general. But when it came to her love life, Korra had never exactly been an open book. Especially now, when it came to a few shared moments with your best friend that were already confusing enough, without your nosy ‘aunt’ involved. **Especially** now that her loud mouthed friend had seen them.

And now, her mind had come full circle. All of her thoughts nowadays seemed to circle back to Asami. For some reason, she had begun seeing her in a whole new light ever since her return to Republic City. It was kind of like everything she loved about her was magnified and flooded her mind whenever she saw her. Korra loves Asami; always have, always will. But it was almost like she loves her differently now. Different how, she wasn’t sure.

* * *

 

Korra and Asami sat underneath the great sycamore on Air Temple Island. The two of the had been playing board games for a while now. After losing miserably at chess, Korra suggested that they play pai sho. They were now sitting across from one another, staring each other down, and Korra was losing her mind while waiting for Asami to make her move, since she had already moved first.

“Uggghhhh,” Korra groaned, “Why can’t you just play already?”

"Pai sho is a game of strategy, not speed,” Asami replied, without looking up. She sighed heavily with her hand under her chin, her eyes darting across the board. “My dad taught me.”

“Really?” Korra shifted her legs so that she was sitting with her legs crossed. “Well, Bolin taught me, and he told me it was all about speed. You move fast, and don’t think.”

Asami snorted, trying to conceal her laughter. “He taught you street pai sho. That isn’t real pai sho.”

“Oh yeah?” Korra replied, crossing her arms and smirking. “Well, Bolin said I was a natural, so I bet I could take you. Easy.”

Asami laughed and gave her a crooked smile. _Spirits, that damn smile._ She picked up a tile and moved it without even looking down. Those shining emeralds bore down into Korra’s soul, or at least it felt like they did. Korra could watch her smile for days on end. The way her eyes creased and her cheeks scrunched up, but somehow looked sexy at the same time. And in this moment, Asami’s face shone, and Korra was lost in her eyes.

“Your move.”

The engineer’s smooth voice snapped Korra back into the present. She looked down at the board, glancing at the move that Asami had made, and quickly made a move of her own. “See,” Korra started, looking back up to see Asami studying the board once again, “speed is how the game works.”

Asami chuckled and put her hand on her chin, moving another tile. “Whatever you say. Speaking of Bolin,” Korra moved a tile, “Do you think he’ll be able to keep his mouth shut?”

“In all honesty?” Korra questioned. Asami moved a tile. “No. But I do trust him, and I think we’ll be fine. I mean, whatever this,” she gestured between the two of them, “is.” Although Korra was as happy as ever today, she still had no idea of where their ‘whatever it was’ that they were doing even was.

“Yeah, we should probably talk about that,” Asami said with a sigh. Korra moved a tile. _Thank spirits._ “So, let’s set down some ground rules. First off, what are we even doing?” Once she finished, Asami moved a tile.

Korra moved a tile, and then thought for a moment. _Wow. I haven’t even thought about this part._ “Okay. DTR. We’re just a couple of friends, who occasionally make out. No big.”

Asami broke her stare at the pai sho board and moved her head up to look Korra in the eyes, and blue met green. _Did I say something wrong? Shit. I’m wrong aren’t I?_ Luckily, Asami derailed Korra’s negative train of thoughts by saying “Yeah, sure. Just best friends who make out on occasion. To test out certain,” Asami paused, leaning towards Korra and hooding her eyes, “attractions.” Her voice had dropped so low that it was almost a whisper, and it almost made Korra tremble. As if nothing had happened, Asami began studying the board again.

“Cool cool cool. Okay, cool. But what if it gets weird?” Korra questioned. That was probably the thing that was holding her back from this the most. Her and Asami were too good of friends for her to lose her. And what if this new attraction ruins their friendship?

“Well,” Asami moves a tile, “we can just talk about it. If one of us feels uncomfortable, we should talk about it. Sound good?”

“Sounds good.” Korra moved a tile. Asami went back to studying the pai sho board, holding her chin in her hand. She furrowed her brow in frustration, and it looked like she was stumped. Korra thought it felt good to finally be better than  Asami at whatever she thinks is a ‘strategy game’. “A little stumped there, Sato?” Korra gave a smirk, doing her best to be cocky despite the fact that the engineer looked **very** cute when she was contemplating something.

After a moment, Asami chuckled a little bit, flipping her always perfect hair out of her face and moving another tile. “See, Korra,” Asami said pointedly, gesturing to the move she had just made, “the game is about strategy. You have to actually think about what you’re doing so that you can win the game.”

Korra looked down at the board to see what she had done. The lotus tile lay in the center of the board with a pattern of harmony rings surrounding it, which meant that Asami had won the game. “Okay, whatever. I should’ve known better to trust Bolin, that’s on me,” Korra chuckled. She reached out to clear the board, only for the tips of her fingers to meet Asami’s.

Asami gave magical hugs. Her embraces were known to radiate some sort of happy feeling, not just by Korra, but by her friends as well. Korra didn’t know if it was the way she squeezed someone like it was the end of the world, or how she somehow made you feel like the most important person in the world just through a single embrace. Asami’s touch always spread a warm fuzzy feeling throughout her, and it made her forget about whatever she was worrying about in the first place.

Their fingertips brushed, and that feeling happened again. That warm and fuzzy one. Korra looked up, and her blue eyes met Asami’s green. For a moment, she just stared, mesmerized. This obviously wasn’t the first time Korra had lost herself in Asami’s eyes, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last. Korra’s stare broke when she saw that Asami’s eyes had trailed down to her lips and remained there a moment, making her extremely uncomfortable. She hated when people stared at her body like that, specifically recalling the brief moment when she had seen Asami looking at her when she was getting her tattoo. But this time, as her emeralds traveled up and down Korra’s body, she didn’t mind; in fact, she didn’t give it a second thought.

Heat flooded Korra’s cheeks and just about every other part of her body, and she could feel herself blushing as Asami slid her hand underneath Korra’s and held it gently from underneath. The engineer brushed her thumb back and forth on the back of Korra’s hand, and if her face wasn’t red enough already, she probably looked like a tomato now. But for once, she wasn’t focused on her embarrassment at all; she could only focus on how insanely soft Asami’s hands were, especially for someone who invents stuff and engineers things for a living (Korra really had no idea how anything technology-based worked, so she took a wild guess.)

“I wish we could see each other more.” Asami’s gentle voice, almost a whisper, brought Korra’s mind back to the present. Their hands still holding one another’s, Korra looked up to find those damn emerald eyes staring intently at her own.

“Me too,” Korra responded, her voice low. She wanted to come up with a way for them to see each other more often, as they had so many ‘adult responsibilities’ to deal with now that they barely had any free time. After a moment’s thought, she came up with a half-baked plan that may or may not work. “We could see each other during the nighttime, since most of our stuff happens during the day. You know, like go hang out around the town and stuff. And maybe we could explore your estate some more, I still haven’t seen all of it.”

Asami laughed. “That sounds good. So we can figure out a night that the both of us are free, do our _thing,_ ” Asami wiggled her eyebrows at that, making Korra blush, “and then figure out the next night we can hang out. And radio one another, and see each other during the day or whatever.” Their hands were still touching.

As if it was choreographed, Korra and Asami both pulled their hands back at the same time, Korra tucking her short hair behind her ears and Asami fiddling with her jacket. There was only a moment of awkward silence, and Korra caught Asami blushing. “Oh spirits, Asami Sato,” Korra gasped quietly, “are you **blushing**?” There were very few moments in which Korra could catch the engineer flustered, and when it happened, she took advantage of it.

Still blushing, Asami turned her head to the side, trying to cover her childish grin. Korra smiled, open mouthed, staring. “You have totally got it for me!” Korra teased.

“What? No I do not.” Asami leaned across the table to punch Korra, who was laughing so hard she was clutching her stomach, in the shoulder. “Shut up.”

Korra reveled in this moment, and she felt like she was on top of the world for being able to get Asami embarrassed like this. Oh, how the tables have turned. She just shrugged and replied with a “Fine, whatever.” Korra stood up and brushed off her clothes, offering Asami a hand. “Now come on, let’s go inside before it gets dark.”

* * *

 

Asami and Korra had been laying on Korra’s bed side by side for an hour now in comfortable silence. Asami was reading a book, and Korra was mindlessly bending a small meteorite into a bunch of different shapes. She had been lost in her own thoughts for half an hour now, thinking about the contact she and the engineer had shared. They had held hands before; in fact, they did it a lot. But that time, it was somehow different. Her whole body came alive at the slightest brush of their fingertips, and Korra was pretty sure that normally doesn’t happen between two friends.

Korra felt herself blush as she felt Asami shifted her head onto the top of her shoulder, nuzzling closer into Korra. The brunette leaned back into Asami, letting her head rest on top of the engineers; it felt like the right thing to do in the moment. Her breath hitched when Asami closed her book and set it down beside her and proceeded to scoot herself even closer into Korra. The engineer put her finger on Korra’s knee and dragged it lazily up her thigh, then back down again.

“People don’t tell you how great you are enough.” Asami didn’t move an inch while whispering the words into Korra’s ear, still tracing her leg with her finger.

That certainly wasn’t something Korra had expected to hear Asami say in that moment. She was expecting some sort of tease. But as usual, Asami Sato continued to surprise her every day. Korra felt her heart swell, and she impulsively laid a kiss on top of Asami’s head. _Shit. Shit. Shit._ **_Shit._**

Once again to her surprise, Asami didn’t make some sort of witty comment. She simply turned her head to face Korra’s and planted a chaste kiss onto her lips. The contact lasted for only a second, and the two of them pulled back, and blue met green once again.

Something took over Korra. Some primal instinct that she couldn’t explain. But in that moment, she lost all sense of herself and her mind only focused on one thing. Korra cupped Asami’s face and quickly pulled her into another kiss, their lips almost crashing together. Asami reciprocated the energy; she held Korra’s neck, making sure that their faces stayed together. Korra’s tongue was instantly granted entry to meet Asami’s and they battled for dominance. Their lips only broke contact for a moment, and the two of them gasped for breath. As quickly as they had separated, they were together again.

Still holding Asami’s lips to her own. Korra brought her closer and deepened the kiss. She felt Asami’s hand trail down her side and land at her waist, sending shockwaves throughout her body. Asami pulled at Korra from the waist, bringing the two of them close enough to where their bodies were now pressed together. Their lips still locked, Korra wrapped her arms around the back of Asami’s neck, ensuring that they stay close.

Asami moved her lips away, and Korra moaned in disappointment, but it quickly dissipated as she felt the engineer planting hot, wet kisses along her jaw and slowly moving down her neck. Korra’s head fell back as she moaned with pleasure. Asami continued peppering her with short kisses, moving in staccato bursts. Her lips stopped at a point in the middle of Korra’s neck, and they remained there. The feel of Asami’s teeth nipping at her and her tongue pressed to her skin made Korra feel like she might melt under Asami’s touch.

After a moment of what felt like pure ecstasy, Asami removed herself from Korra’s neck and brought her face up to Korra’s once again, showering her neck and jaw with short kisses along the way. Her lips met Korra’s once again and they remained in a deep kiss for sometime, both of them unwilling to come up for air.

Much to Korra’s dismay, breathing was something that she actually had to do to stay alive, so she pulled away from Asami and took a deep breath, centering herself. Asami did the same. Both of them still panting, their eyes met once again. For a moment, they just sat there, trying to catch their breath, and simply enjoying the beauty of one another’s eyes. Asami broke the not at all uncomfortable silence by cracking a sly smile, saying breathlessly, “Well that was new.”

Korra grunted. “Tell me about it.” Asami laid back with a sigh and picked up the book she had been reading earlier, assuming her earlier sitting position and opening her book back to where she left off. Korra watched, jaw dropped, as Asami just sat there like nothing had happened. She flipped a page and sighed, breaking the silence with “How do you feel about Love Amongst the Dragons?”

Korra had to physically shake her head to comprehend. _She just… sat there… like nothing happened?_ Then again, it wasn’t at all out of character for Asami to be such a tease like this. Korra decided to play along, and she’d eventually get her chance to talk about what had just happened that couldn’t be described any way other than ‘awesome’. “The play or the book?”

“Book,” Asami replied nonchalantly, not looking up. Korra leaned closer to look at the cover of whatever she was reading, and to her surprise, it wasn’t even Love Amongst the Dragons; it was some research book about engineering or something. Her eyes traveled up to find Asami’s now-smudged wine red lipstick, and she thought about how not even a moment ago they were pressed against her own. She stared for a moment until she heard Asami cough. “Uh… answer please?”

Korra snapped her mind back to the present and scrambled to compose her thoughts on the ancient book. “I thought the dark water spirit was a bit overpowered, but I like it.”

Asami replied with a simple “Good.” Korra leaned back and shifted into her position from earlier, picking up her space rock and playing with it again. But she honestly wasn’t paying attention to the shapes she was making; all she could think about was if she’d ever be able to understand the complex and surprising mind of Asami Sato.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to do a little research on Pai Sho for this chapter, even though it isn’t a real game. Also, my only knowledge of love amongst the dragons is from The Search. I did my best xx


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyooo, I finally finished this chapter. Yay me. Sorry about the wait. If it means anything, I did chemically burn off two of my fingertips, so I had to get used to typing differently. Long story.
> 
> So after rewatching, I decided to continue with an au without the whole Kuvira thing. It would be too much work to change up the timeline more than I already have, and when I started writing this I didn’t plan on writing about that. So i just decided to skip over that entire plot line overall. But there will still be a spirit portal in Republic City because that is important to the plot I have planned. Thanks for reading, enjoy xx

  
It was an ungodly hour in the morning, and Asami couldn’t sleep. She sat on the little wooden board with wheels that she used to slide under her Satomobiles and began her work. She was almost done with this new model, and when she was finished, it would make more money for the company than anything else had in years. Asami was driven to finish this project, as she hadn’t had much time to finish it herself recently. 

She loved to work with her hands. Taking something apart and putting it back together again had always excited her, ever since she was a little kid. Creating something new with her bare hands gave her a sense of accomplishment that couldn’t be replicated by anything else. When her father found her playing with his toolbox and taking apart his only prototype for his latest invention, he wasn’t mad at all. He was ecstatic that she shared his love for engineering at such a young age. It was probably what her and her father bonded over the most in her youth. 

When Asami’s mother died when she was eight, Hiroshi was a mess. He began drinking, and he was letting Future Industries fall apart. It was a really difficult time for her and her father, and they went through so much pain in those couple of years. The only thing that kept Asami sane was building and inventing. It comforted her and made her feel safe. For some people, it was music. For some, it was art. For Asami, though, it was engineering.

Asami had been a very smart kid for as long as she could remember. She always felt like the older people in her life didn’t expect her to be as wise as she was for her age. Nobody thought she would notice that her father was falling apart, but she did. She was the one who helped him get himself together and stop the company from falling through the cracks. Being as smart as she was, she had to take on a lot of responsibilities at such a young age. With her mom gone and her dad at work almost all of the time, she had to learn to take care of herself pretty much on her own. 

Her father was in prison. It killed her to say it, but Asami missed him. It had taken a long time to get over his betrayal, but after nearly four years of being apart from him, she missed him. He was the last family she had, well, that’s what she had thought. The “Krew,” as Bolin had called them once, were her family now. But a part of Asami still just wanted to be with her dad again. That’s why she spent so much time working on her engineering projects herself nowadays; it made her feel close to him.

As she sat in her workshop fiddling with the components at the bottom of the car, Asami wondered if she’d ever be able to forgive her father for what he did. The more she had thought about it, the more she could understand where he was coming from- it was perfectly natural for him to be resentful of the firebending Agni Kai that had killed her, and want revenge. But he had gone too far- way too far. The equalists were tyrants, and they were nothing more than a group of oppressors. He even wanted to ‘equalize’ Asami’s friends. He had been blinded by rage, and his actions scarred Asami almost beyond repair. All of his letters to her from prison lay under Asami’s bed- she had never opened them. But if he was still writing her (which he was,) then maybe she should listen to what he had to say. After all, it’s been nearly four years. That’s plenty of time to sit in prison with nothing to do but reflect on your actions.

Asami spent who knows how long down there until, with a final twist of her wrench, she was satisfied with her work. She slid out from underneath the car and sat up on the board, looking down at herself. The white tank top she had put on earlier was now a nasty shade of brownish-gray, and drenched in sweat and oil.  _ Ugh. Korra was right- kissing me must have been gross.  _ And all of a sudden, her mind was hit with thoughts of the beautiful water tribe girl she had come down to the workshop to stop thinking about.

_ No. Stop that. _

Recently, it had proven to be very difficult for Asami to shove Korra out of her mind. It wasn’t exactly a bad thing, but the brunette with beautiful mocha skin and ice blue eyes was too distracting for Asami. 

_ Cut it out Asami! Stop thinking about Korra like that _ .

Asami knew that those thoughts would come back eventually, but she could at least delay their inevitable arrival for a while. She removed her work gloved and tossed the wrench into a nearby toolbox, getting up from the wooden board. Taking a couple of steps back, she turned around to take a look at what she had just created.

It was beautiful. The brand new Satomobile wasn’t very decorated, but it’s sleek black body shone even in the low lighting of the workshop and the windshield reflected the ceiling. It was still suspended in the air with a carjack. Now, for the moment of truth. Asami took a deep breath and pulled the key out of her pocket, and she was almost nervous about trying to turn it on. She had been working on this for a long time- it would kill her to find out that it didn’t work. But she had to do it anyways.  _ This better fucking work. _

The engineer opened the driver side door and leaned across the seat, putting the key in the keyhole next to the steering wheel.  _ Here goes nothing.  _ With a very hesitant twist of the key, the car roared into life and the engine sputtered into a smooth hum. 

Asami could barely contain her excitement. She left the key in the car and started jumping around the room like an idiot, but nothing could stop her. “FUCK YEAH!” She punched the air in triumph and jumped around a few more times. Without being able to control herself, she let out a shriek of excitement, knowing that nobody would hear her from the secluded workshop. As the CEO of a huge company, there were very few rare moments in which Asami could jump around and not put on her ‘ceo face’ as she called it. 

_ I should probably shut this off before it dies or something.  _ Asami walked back up to the car and removed the key, watching the engine die and the room returning to it’s silence with only the hum of the radiator in the corner. She took one last look at herself, and took in a huge sigh.

“I need a fucking shower.”

* * *

Asami was sitting on her bed, face down, hands over her face and being smooshed into her pillow. She had been laying down like this for almost thirty minutes, as it was the only way that she could keep herself from touching herself. Because if she did, she knew exactly whose face would appear in her mind. 

The engineer was a huge advocate for sexual health, and always had been. A lot of other girls she knew were adamant against female masturbation, and they thought it was gross. Unsurprisingly, they were some of the most uptight people she knew. But Asami believed exactly the opposite- it was perfectly okay and healthy for you to get yourself off every once in a while. It was actually quite necessary, in her opinion. It’s a good stress reliever, and it can help you know more about your own body and what you want when it comes to sex, not to mention that it feels pretty amazing too. That’s why she tried to ‘keep herself healthy’ a couple times a week.

But this time was especially challenging. When she went to work on the car early that morning to get her mind off of a certain water tribe girl that shall remain unnamed, she knew that she would have to face her own thoughts eventually, and that time was now. The events of the other night had been playing in her mind for the past thirty minutes. The way Korra’s lips felt against her own. The adorable awkwardness that she’s always had vanished whenever she kissed Asami. The way her hand felt against her waist. It was one of the most basic things anyone can do when making out, but the simple touch had sent fireworks going off in Asami’s stomach. And now sitting here, her hands going numb in between her face and her pillow, Asami was thinking about things that one most certainly should not thinking about in context with your best friend.

“Ugggghhhhhh,” Asami let out a long, frustrated groan into her pillow. Her one day off of work in a long time had already proved to be way more difficult than she had anticipated. After sitting with her hands restrained for a few more minutes, Asami decided that she would be fine from now on. She sat up from laying down on her bed, took in a huge sigh, and exhaled loudly, looking around at her surroundings. 

Asami still lived in her childhood bedroom, even though she had had the estate to herself the past few years. A twin bed jutted out into the middle of the room pushed against a wall, a dresser to her left and a set of French doors with thin curtains leading out to the side of the yard to her right. Other than that and a couple of chairs and a desk on them other side of the room, that was pretty much it. It was a small room, but it was hers, and she felt like if she gave that up then she’d be giving up a part of herself. She had long refused to move into the master bedroom, much to the dismay of the household staff. Her main butler, Yang, had once said that “ _ it’s impractical for you to sleep in a child’s room, as you are far from being a child anymore.”  _ But once again, she had refused. It would be too painful to sleep in the bedroom that her parents had once shared, one dead and one in prison.

_ I need to get myself together,  _ Asami thought. She had been deep in her thoughts since the morning, and it was past noon and she still hadn’t done anything productive. She got up and went over to her dresser, changing into real clothes instead of the pajamas she had put on after her shower. There wasn’t much for her to do today except for some paperwork that she was behind on, but she could take care of that later.  _ I’m gonna go see if there’s anyone home.  _ After getting herself to a presentable point, Asami headed out of her room in the direction of the kitchen. As if on cue, her stomach let out a loud rumble, and she clutched it with a hand to try and quiet it down. She just realized that she hadn’t eaten anything at all today. Actually, she hadn’t eaten since around this time yesterday.  _ Spirits, I need to take better care of myself. _

She reached the kitchen and hesitantly peeked her head around the corner, hoping that Varrick wasn’t there to give her another fucking heart attack. Luckily, the kitchen was empty.  _ Thank spirits.  _ Asami walked over to the teapot and poured water in it from the sink, making herself some jasmine tea, her favorite. Her stomach growled again, making sure that Asami knew that she needed food.  _ Yeah yeah, I’m on it.  _ She went to the cabinet searching for something that she would willingly eat, which was pretty much anything at this point. All that was left were a couple of cans of soup, but it was better than nothing. Asami was going to have a talk with Mako and Bolin about eating all of her food without her permission.

After the soup was eaten and the tea was drank (remarkably fast), Asami tried to give herself something else to do to procrastinate from doing her paperwork. She ended up spending most of her day alternating between reading her engineering novel that was actually a lot more interesting than it sounds, playing with Pabu (who Bolin had left at the estate for some unknown reason), and thinking about Korra. 

Pretty much everything Asami did that day reminded her of Korra. It didn’t really make sense, except for the fact that just last night the two of them had been  **real** close. Every time that she thought of Korra in a way that she probably should not be thinking, Asami mentally slapped herself and moved onto another activity to occupy her mind. By the time the sun began going down outside her window, she realized that it was probably time to finish up the paperwork that she was dreading. At least it might help her get her mind off of Korra.

Once she made it to her home office in the estate, she reached into the file cabinet and pulled out the papers that she has yet to finish up. Stuff for the company, stuff for paying bills, stuff for whatever else that Varrick needed her to do.  _ Sigh.  _ Asami reluctantly made her way back over to the desk and sat down, pulling out a pen and beginning to look through her stuff. She had been sitting for a total of thirty seconds until she heard two raps on her door, and she looked up to see an all-too-familiar face. 

“Hey, Asami.” Korra stood in her doorway with her arms crossed, leaning against the side of the door frame. “You busy?”

“Actually, yeah,” Asami sighed, as much as she didn’t want to. “I’m really behind on stuff for the company, an-“

“Yeah, I don’t care about that.” Korra flashed a crooked smile, that damn smile, that made Asami melt where she sat. This was a really cheesy thing to think, but Asami truly believed that Korra’s goofy smile could light up all of Republic City in the middle of the night. She radiated joy. For the short time when Korra was recovering, she barely smiled, which was extremely out of character. But now, some of the old Korra was back. Smiling and happy Korra, excited to see the world and do everything Korra. At least, she looked like that around Asami. 

Still grinning like a maniac, Korra moved agonizingly slowly towards Asami. She got more and more confused with each step that Korra took towards her. After what seemed like forever, Korra finally reached Asami, swiveling Asami’s chair to face her, and climbed on top of Asami. 

“Korra, what the fuck are you doing?” Asami tried to sound mad, but truthfully, she wanted to see where this would lead. 

Korra shifted until she was straddling Asami with a knee on each side of her, and then leaned in close to put her hand on the back of the chair behind Asami’s head. Her short brunette hair now shadowed her face, which was inches from Asami’s. Some of her hair was actually touching Asami. Korra bit her bottom lip and grinned, eyes hooded, driving Asami wild. “I have been thinking about kissing you,” Korra said in a low, seductive voice that Asami had never heard before, “all,” Korra lifted her free hand and cupped Asami’s face, “day." 

Asami’s breath hitched as Korra moved in closer until their lips were inches away from each other. They were so close that she couldn’t make out the features of Korra’s face. Asami looked around to see if there was anyone around. “Korra, what are you doing?” Asami asked with a smile. She didn’t know where this wave of confidence in Korra came from, but she didn’t question it when Korra pulled Asami closer and closed the distance between their lips.

* * *

Korra and Jinora were sparring near the training area on Air Temple Island. They had been going at it for fifteen minutes, and they were both exhausted, but they wouldn’t quit. Korra was finally feeling a little better; she still wasn’t at 100 percent, but she was in a much better mood, and she thought that helped a little bit. 

The two of them circled each other in a fighting stance, hands up. Jinora made the first move. After a few more minutes of sparring, Jinora fell to the ground, out of breath. Korra stood over her, hand in the air. “Finally,” she breathed, falling to the ground right next to the young airbender. They laid there for a moment in silence, staring at the sky and trying to catch their breath, and simultaneously started laughing. Jinora turned her head to face Korra. “You did good today. I’m glad to see your head is back in the right place.”

“I’m glad, too,” Korra breathed. “I feel a lot better.”

Jinora turned around to lay on her side and face Korra. “Was it what I said that helped you?” Her brown eyes shone with hope, and even though it wasn’t 100% true, Korra couldn’t help but agree. “Yeah.” She smiled.

Korra stood up, only to almost fall back on the ground. Her body was exhausted, and she was drenched in sweat. She ran her hands through her short hair, which was now so gross that she could barely get her fingers through all the tangles.  _ Ugh, I need a shower.  _ Jinora stole the words from her head and stood up next to her. “You should probably clean yourself up. You look awful.”

Korra chuckled in agreement. “I was thinking the same thing.” She brushed whatever dust was left on her clothes off. “See you later, Jinora.” She turned around to head back inside.

Showering on Air Temple Island was an experience, at most. Running water was already a fairly new technology, and the island had just gotten it, so it wasn’t exactly perfect. The water was cold, and only one person could use a shower at a time since the water pressure only worked well enough to handle one at a time. Kya was the only person on the island who could shower whenever she wanted, for obvious reasons.

Luckily, nobody else was using a shower, so Korra was in and out in 10 minutes. When she got back to her room, she squeezed the moisture out of her hair and dried off the rest of her body. She looked up and turned around to get some clean clothes, but her reflection in the mirror across the room stopped her. Standing up straight, she turned to face her reflection head on and look at her nude figure in the mirror.

Korra never really looked at herself in the mirror. She had always figured that her appearance didn’t really matter much because, well, it didn’t. There were always more important things to worry about. She never looked herself in the mirror, especially when she was naked. It was something that she wasn’t proud of, because she didn’t know her own body very well. Which kinda sucked, because by her standards, she had a really nice body. Korra just guessed that her reluctance to show a lot of skin and to even look at herself fully undressed came from growing up in the South Pole.

Her eyes trailed up to her exposed breasts. Her boobs weren’t anything special; they were of average size. Korra never thought anything much of them, and neither had anyone else, in her opinion. When she and Mako were dating, Mako was a gentleman. When they would make out, he never pushed Korra to do anything she didn’t want to do, and he always made sure that she was okay. She appreciated him for that, but she thought it also stemmed from the fact that they hadn’t had any chemistry. The two of them never made it past second base (mind you, they only reached it once.)

Korra let her eyes linger over her chest for a couple more moments. She wondered what it would feel like to have them be held. Fondling her boobs herself had never amounted to much.

But when she thought about it, she immediately pictured Asami, who was the last person she should be picturing. Korra tore her gaze from the mirror and put on her clean clothes as fast as she could, covering herself up and sweeping all thoughts of Asami to the back of her mind, to be dealt with later. 

As the day went on, Korra found that to be very difficult. The dark haired woman crossed her mind constantly, usually paired with thoughts that should definitely not be paired with your best friend who you have known for years. But they were.

And Korra didn’t try to stop them anymore.

Some time later, after being lost in her thoughts for a while, she landed in front of the Sato estate. When she hit the ground, she whipped her glider back into its place. Korra stared at the magnificent front doors for a moment. Doing the math in her head, she figured that it would take the staff a hell of a lot longer to make their way to the door to let her in than for her to just fly into Asami’s bedroom window. 

Picking up her glider again, she took off around the corner of the mansion. She kept going until she spotted the french doors leading into Asami’s bedroom. She landed once again and walked up to the doors, looking inside the windows to see if Asami was in there. She wasn’t, but her window was cracked open. Korra seized the opportunity and pushed the window all the way open and climbed inside the small bedroom, shutting the window behind her. 

Korra looked around the room to find a clock somewhere. She found one on the nightstand next to Asami’s twin bed. Why she still had a twin bed was beyond Korra. She read the time: 6 pm.  _ It’s Asami’s day off, so she has to be around here somewhere.  _ Korra left her glider behind in the room and left to look for Asami.

The Sato mansion was massive. There were at least a dozen bedrooms, and another room for just about everything that someone would need a room for. The house was a maze of hallways and kitchens and rooms with chairs and other stuff that seemed pretty unnecessary to have in a house. Korra had been hanging out here with Asami and the rest of her friends for years, and she still got lost all the time. It didn’t help that Korra had no clue where Asami was at the moment. 

She started down the hall, checking all the rooms to see if Asami was there. So far, nothing.  _ Okay, Korra. Think. Where does Asami spend a lot of time?  _ Then it hit her like a ton of bricks; her study! She was the CEO of a major company, after all. That means she has to do a lot of work in an office, right? Korra had no idea how that stuff worked, but she did know that Asami spent a lot of time in there. 

The office was a long way away from where Korra was, and she regretted leaving her glider behind. She began on her way to Asami. She had made it to the front of the house and was passing through the living room when Bolin appeared out of nowhere, holding a bowl of noodles with one hand and eating with another. When he saw Korra, he quickly swallowed what he had in his mouth and greeted Korra. “Korra! What are you doing here?”

Korra didn’t want to talk, but she sighed and decided to carry out a conversation with the young earthbender. She owed him at least that much for not writing him while she was away. “Hey, Bo. I’m, uh, I’m here to see Asami. Is she around?” Korra held the back of her neck nervously, hoping that he wouldn’t bring up the fact that he had caught the two of them kissing that one time.

“Uh, yeah. I think she’s in her office.” Bolin pointed in the direction of the office, but Korra already knew where it was. She started in that direction and shouted a quick “thanks” back to Bolin. Before she could get away, Bolin called from behind her “Ohhhh, is this about the two of you guys? You know,” he paused. Korra whipped her head around back to him, fuming. He looked like he was trying to find the right word. “Experimenting.”

Korra sighed.  _ Why lie? He already knows.  _ “Maybe. Thank you for telling me where she is, but if you’ll excuse me, I have to go now.” Before Bolin could stop her again, she took off again to Asami. One of the downsides of having a huge mansion is that it takes way too long to get from one place to another. 

Korra finally reached the office. She walked up to find that the door was already open. She peeked inside to see if Asami was there, and sure enough, she was. She was wearing her little reading glasses and going through some paperwork or something. When Korra moved to stand in the middle of the doorway, Asami still didn’t notice. Unable to keep quiet, Korra gave the side of the doorway two knocks. “Hey, Asami.”

The engineer looked up and her green eyes met Korra’s in shock. Korra leaned against the side of the doorway, arms crossed. “You busy?”

Asami shook her head and sighed. “Actually, yeah. I’m really behind on stuff for the company, a-

“Yeah, I don’t care about that.” Korra could barely contain herself. All of the mounting lust after Asami that she had tried to push away all this time had gotten the best of her, and Korra decided to let the moment ride out. Seeing the look on Asami’s face made Korra smile. She was smiling so much that her cheeks hurt, but she didn’t care. The avatar stepped closer and closer to Asami, until she was within arms length of the chair that she sat in. Korra swiveled the chair to face her, and actually climbed up onto the chair to straddle Asami, something that she would normally never have the guts to do. 

Asami’s breath hitched, and she looked shell-shocked. “Korra, what the fuck are you doing?” Her voice was kind of distorted- it sounded like she was trying to be upset, but really wasn’t. Korra was familiar with every voice that Asami had ever used. 

Korra leaned in closer, until their lips were inches apart, letting her short hair fall down on the side of her face and onto Asami’s shoulders. She put an arm over Asami’s shoulder to hold herself up from the back of the chair. Asami stared, opened mouthed. Korra almost never got to see her flustered like this, and there was no way that she wasn’t going to take advantage of it. She bit her bottom lip and grinned, making Asami’s breath hitch again.

“I have been thinking about kissing you,” Korra started, slowly moving in closer to Asami, “all,” Korra cupped Asami’s face, “day.” Asami gasped, and Korra noticed her green eyes trailing down to look at her lips, which Korra didn’t mind. Not looking up, Asami breathed “Korra, what are you doing?”

Korra couldn’t stand the tension any longer. She pulled Asami’s face into her own and met her lips. And after all that time today and all the mounting feelings and thoughts she had had about this moment suddenly vanished into thin air. 

To Korra’s surprise, Asami grabbed the back of Korra’s neck and pulled her closer, kissing her back. Hard. Korra deepened the kiss, pressing her body into Asami’s. She moved the hand that was on her jaw into Asami’s dark hair, letting her fingers get tangled in it as she did everything in her power to close every bit of distance between them. Asami bit Korra’s bottom lip and sucked on it with just the right amount of pressure. Korra leaned her head back and let Asami continue planting kisses on the side of her jaw.

Asami was still placing hot, wet kisses along the side of Korra’s neck. She nipped at Korra’s pulse point, causing her to let out a moan. She felt the engineer’s tongue on the side of her neck. Korra arched her back in closer to Asami’s chest, and she could feel Asami’s boobs just underneath her own. Suddenly, Asami separated herself from Korra’s neck. Korra whined in protest, but she made up for it by pulling Korra back to her lips and into another kiss.

Korra noticed that the lipstick that she had felt on Asami’s lips earlier was now gone. Oh, well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter should come out way sooner. Let me know what ya think


End file.
